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Capitalizing China, edited by Joseph P.H. Fan and Randall Morck. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012. Hardcover. ISBN- 9780226237244, $110.00, 368 pages. What is the nature of China's economic system? [...]

China’s rapid economic growth in the last three decades has been fuelled by energy-intensive investment and manufacturing, which have become instrumental for China to become the world’s largest economy based on purchasing power parity, and for the United States and the European Union to have access to cheap consumer goods. China’s development strategy, however, has generated a serious domestic environmental crisis, which has also accelerated the global climate emergency. In addition, the 2008 economic crisis led to a collapse of China’s external demand, inducing the leadership to support domestic investment – including investment in environmental projects – as an alternative source of effective demand. By setting ambitious green targets and by adopting strategic policy initiatives, China has become the world’s largest investor in renewable energy. Yet China remains the world’s largest coal consumer and the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitter. The Chinese economy nears a crossroad: will it be able to maintain its commitment to green energies or will it fall back to its historical reliance on fossil fuels to sustain growth? This article evaluates the interplay between China’s economy and environment over the course of the reform period, and investigates the set of forces that impinge upon China’s ecological future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper aims to assess the relationship between industrial productivity and industrial wage share in China between 1980 and 2007, and to identify the determinants of the industrial wage share over the same period. The results suggest that the market reforms in China have led to a reduction of workers’ bargaining power, which in turn explains both the rapid productivity increase and the steady decline in the wage share observed since the beginning of the reforms. The results also suggest that privatization, labor market informalization, and retreat of the state from social provisioning are key factors explaining the decline in the wage share. The current Chinese model of development, however, is unsustainable for economic, social, and environmental reasons, and a sustainable model of development is likely to require a more egalitarian income distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper argues that China’s current model of development led by exports and investment is not sustainable for economic, social, and environmental reasons. The accumulation of economic, social, and environmental imbalances could potentially lead to a major crisis for China and the global economy. The paper proposes a progressive economic program that could help China move towards a more equitable and ecologically sustainable model of development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]