China's Economic Transition

Catalog description

Over the past forty years, China has transitioned from a poor, inefficient, and closed economy to an upper-middle income country and the world's largest trading nation. This course introduces the key institutional and economic reforms of China since 1978 and their contributions to China's economic development. We will examine the reforms in the pivotal sectors, including agriculture, industry, banking, and international trade, all of which are important steps to improve the overall efficiency and productivity of the Chinese economy. We will also discuss the current challenges facing China to maintain sustainable growth, such as problems regarding demographic structure, state-owned enterprises, government debts, etc. Prerequisite: This course assumes no prior background in economics. However, if you are already familiar with basic algebra and basic calculus, supply and demand curves, basic economics concepts, it will help you to understand this course better. Prereq: None. Fulfillment: CORE IPC; Economics Elective; Social Science Focus Political Economy 200 level.