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List of contents
1. The Road to WTO Membership 2. Trade Liberalization, Competition and Employment 3. The Employment Impact of China's Accession 4. Agriculture 5. Industry 6. Services 7. China and the 'Flying-Geese' Theory 8. China's Possible Response to Global Competition
About the author
Ajit S. Bhalla is an economic consultant based in Geneva. He was formerly Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge, and Special Adviser to the President of IDRC (Canada). He has held academic positions at Manchester, Oxford and Yale Universities. His fields of specialization include economic development, poverty alleviation, and globalization. Shufang Qiu is an Economic and Business Consultant based in Cambridge, UK. He has worked for the Chinese Government on economic reforms. His research interests include poverty alleviation, World Trade Organisation and economic transition in China.
Summary
The book explores the macroeconomic and sectoral employment implications (in agriculture, industry and services) of China's World Trade Organisation accession. It argues that while short-run employment losses may occur, in the longer term China will be able to generate additional employment particularly in the tertiary sectors; and that it can maintain its comparative advantage in labour-intensive exports by relocating production from high-cost coastal areas to the hinterland with abundant supply of cheap labour.
It also argues that, although China is likely to benefit in the long run, in the short and medium term China is likely to face enormous problems, including increased unemployment as weaker links cease to be protected by tariffs, and the problem of restructuring state-owned enterprises.
Additional text
'This book is well documented and informative, providing rich, detailed statistical data about employment transformation and prospects in China.' - China Information
'The book is a refreshing change from the many anecdotal discussions of how China's accession to the WTO is likely to affect the Chinese economy. Its strengths are its rigorous use of empirical data and its testing of a number of economic theories in the vast post-war economic literature.' - The China Journal
