Although average incomes in China have
risen dramatically since the 1980s, concerns are increasing
that the rural elderly have not benefited from growth to the
same... Show More +
extent as younger people and the urban elderly.
Concerns about welfare of the rural elderly combine spatial
and demographic issues. Large gaps exist between conditions
in coastal and interior regions and between conditions in
urban and rural areas of the country. In addition to
differences in income by geography, considerable differences
exist across demographic groups in the level of coverage by
safety nets, in the benefits received through the social
welfare system, and in the risks of falling into poverty.
This book aims to do two things: first, it provides detailed
empirical analysis of the welfare and living conditions of
the rural elderly since the early 1990s in the context of
large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and second, it
explores the evolution of the rural pension system in China
over the past two decades and raises a number of issues on
its current implementation and future directions. Although
the two sections of the book are distinct in analytical
terms, they are closely linked in policy terms: the first
section demonstrates in several ways a rationale for greater
public intervention in the welfare of the rural elderly, and
the second documents the response of policy to date and
options to consider for deepening the coverage and effects
of the rural pension system over the longer term. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 67522
Date: March 13, 2012
Author:
Giles, John ;
Wang, Dewen ;
Cai, Fang ;
O'Keefe, Philip
This overview summarizes the key
findings of the eight chapters and one policy note. It is
organized as follows. The first section provides a
background of Guangdong,... Show More +
while the second describes the
current situation of inequality in the province. Next is a
discussion of the potential impacts of the transfer of
industrial activities ('industrial transfer') in
mitigating regional disparity, followed by the
recommendation of a three pillar strategy for Guangdong. The
fifth section focuses on the elimination of absolute poverty
through the minimum living allowance (Dibao) system, and the
sixth turns to policy actions needed to increase
opportunities for the rural population by moving them to
jobs, increasing their access to finance, and ensuring that
their land rights are better protected. The seventh section
further assesses Guangdong's options for investing in
people through more equitable service delivery in compulsory
education, skill development, and health care, with the aim
of enhancing the capacity of the poor to seize and utilize
opportunities. The last section concludes this overview. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 59092
Date: December 7, 2010
The focus of this volume is on China and
India. The authors see them as the principal beneficiaries
of the first upheaval, roughly bookended by the crises of
1997-98... Show More +
and of 2008-09, and as being among the prime movers
whose economic footprints will expand most rapidly in the
coming decades. If these two countries do come close to
realizing their considerable ambitions, their neighbors in
Asia and their trading partners throughout the world must be
ready for major adjustments. The changes in industrial
geography and in the pattern of trade since the mid-1990s
have already been far-reaching. Nothing on a comparable
scale occurred during the preceding two decades of the 20th
century. These developments offer instructive clues
concerning the possible direction of changes in the future.
However, in the interest of manageability, the author
analysis is centered on the dynamics of industrialization,
as these have a large bearing on the course of development.
Within this context, reference is made to trade, foreign
direct investment, and the building of technological
capabilities, which together constitute a major subset of
the factors responsible for the shape not only of the
industrial geography of the past but also of the industrial
geography yet to come. The striking feature of development
in South and East Asia in the second half of the 20th
century is the degree to which Japan dominated the
industrial landscape and how the Japanese model triggered
the first wave of industrialization in four East Asian
economies-the Republic of Korea; Taiwan, China; Hong Kong,
China; and Singapore. These four so-called tiger economies
were the early starters, and each has become a mature
industrial economy. Indeed, Hong Kong, having transferred
almost all of its manufacturing activities to the Pearl
River Delta, has morphed into a postindustrial economy. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 56794
Date: September 1, 2010
Author:
Yusuf, Shahid ;
Nabeshima, Kaoru
Over the past two decades China's
growth has been rapid, social indicators have improved, and
poverty levels have inched downward. However, widening
inequality, increasing... Show More +
resource and financial imbalances,
and growing environmental concerns provide China with
daunting challenges in improving the quality of growth. The
rapid growth that will remain China's principal vehicle
for raising standards of living and reducing poverty will
derive from urbanization, increased market efficiency, and
improvement in the technological capability of Chinese
firms. But although growth will be critically important,
balance among income groups and sectors is likely to be
vital for social stability. The needed measures to enhance
the quantity and quality of social services and a more
effective safety net for the poor will require a number of
institutional changes, including a reform of
intergovernmental fiscal relations. This report highlights
the significance of the challenges facing China and suggests
policies for achieving rapid, balanced, and sustainable growth. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 36215
Date: May 9, 2006
Author:
Yusuf, Shahid ;
Nabeshima, Kaoru
This paper has four objectives: 1. To
offer an analysis of public administration reform
experiences in a set of countries chosen to illustrate the
range and depth of... Show More +
recent administrative change. 2. To pick
out from this analysis those variables that seem
particularly relevant to the current condition in the
Russian Federation. 3. To suggest a way of organizing
thinking about a very complex and contested field. 4. To
provide some pointers toward a reform strategy for
policymakers in this area in the Russian Federation.
Identifying the key country comparators and the relevant
variables and offering a way of thinking about their
significance are particularly important for the Russian
Federation authorities as they prepare for implementation of
the Program for the Reform of the Civil Service System in
the Russian Federation. As reforms intensify, there will be
a flood of serious, experienced international advisers and
management experts, but there will also be those with
"snake oil" to sell. Reformers need some lenses
through which they can critically examine reform proposals
and evaluate advice from experts. The paper draws its
conclusions from an analysis of 14 countries selected by
representatives of the Russian Federation government:
Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Finland, Germany,
Hungary, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, the Republic
of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The
World Bank was asked to look at a number of countries that
faced similar challenges to those facing Russia in this
area, while also looking at some countries that faced
different problems but achieved interesting results. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 27582
Date: November 1, 2003
Author:
Manning, Nick ;
Parison, Neil
Although China has long been recognized
for its achievements in reducing absolute poverty since
1978, international standards now estimate increased poverty
incidences,... Show More +
particularly among the rural poor, mostly
concentrated in the western provinces, within remote and
mountainous townships, where the absence of educational,
health, and nutritional aspects prevail. The study reviews
the macroeconomic context, analyzing trends in employment,
inflation, as well as fiscal challenges in poverty
reduction, presenting an overview on the poverty reduction
programs, rather focusing on the implementation of new
programs to meet the needs of the poor. It offers measures
to increase mountain areas productivity, through strategic
economic development, improved agriculture programs, and
market analysis. Options for poverty reduction through labor
mobility, or voluntary resettlement are weighed, emphasizing
education, health, and nutrition. While recommendations
include efficient use, and strengthened financial monitoring
of funds for poverty reduction, through increased upland
agricultural production, provision of social sectors, and,
rural enterprise development, forging links with government,
academic, and civil organizations, the report fails to
address the significant emergence of urban absolute poverty,
which may well prod future macroeconomic downturn. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 22137
Date: March 31, 2001
Author:
Piazza, Alan ;
Li, Julia ;
Su Guoxia ;
McKinley, Terry ;
Enjiang Cheng ;
Saint-Pierre, Claude ;
Sicular, Terry ;
Trangmar, Bruce ;
Weller, Robert
Saving in developing countries: an
overview by Norman Loayza, Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, and Luis
Serven. Can Africa's saving collapse be reversed? by
Ibrahim A. Elbadawi... Show More +
and Francis M. Mwega. The saving
collapse during the transition in Eastern Europe by Cevdet
Denizer and Holger C. Wolf. What drives consumption booms?
by Peter J. Montiel. Saving transitions by Dani Rodrik.
Personal and corporate saving in South Africa by Janine Aron
and John Muellbauer. Household saving in China by Aart
Kraay. Private saving in India by Norman Loayza and Rashmi
Shankar. A new development database on the structure and
development of the financial sector by Thorsten Beck,
Asl' Demirguc-Kunt, and Ross Levine. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 21716
Date: September 30, 2000
Author:
Loayza, Norman ;
Schmidt-Hebbel, Klaus ;
Serven, Luis ;
Elbadawi, Ibrahim A. ;
Mwega, Francis M. ;
Denizer, Cevdet ;
Wolf, Holger C. ;
Montiel, Peter J. ;
Rodrik, Dani ;
Aron, Janine ;
Muellbauer, John ;
Kraay, Aart ;
Shankar, Rashmi ;
Beck, Thorsten ;
Demirguc-Kunt, Asl' ;
Levine, Ross
This book deals with the perceptions of
the author, Shahid Javed Burki, on world economies and the
World Bank's work with them. It is complied from
various speeches... Show More +
and discourses given by the author during
his time in the Bank especially during his term as Regional
Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean. The
first section includes an overview of his evolving thinking;
initiatives taken by the author in the pursuance of his
duties including advisory groups, annual conferences,
regional studies programs, and opening a dialogue with
nongovernmental organizations; and a discussion on the move
towards regional trade areas. The second section deals with
poverty, both the facts of it and what the Bank can and has
done to attempt to alleviate it. The third section consists
of a number of speeches concerning globalization. The final
section presents case studies of countries in crises,
including Pakistan and Mexico, as well as analysis of such
areas as the relevance of China's model to Cuba's
situation, globalization and localization, and the
integration of small states into the global economy. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 20035
Date: January 31, 2000
Author:
Burki, Shahid Javed
This report builds on the framework laid
out in the 1997 Country Economic Memorandum, "China
2020: Development Challenges in the New Century," and
its companion reports,... Show More +
which remain largely valid. This
report focuses on the near term. The difficulty of dealing
with China's main macroeconomic challenge, weakened
domestic demand, has been compounded by the Asia crisis and
the global economic slowdown. These challenges come at a
critical juncture in China's structural reform program.
Unemployment and demand for social protection has increased,
and corporate debt pressures are building, in line with the
transition to a more market-based economy. However, the
country's large and partly insulated domestic economy
has inoculated it to some degree against contagion from its
less fortunate neighbors. Having weathered the storm so far,
China can learn lessons from other countries that have
experienced difficulties and, hence, mitigate against the
risk of a crisis. The major policy issue for China is how to
respond to near-term growth pressures in ways that reinforce
structural reform and economic development. Policymakers
have to focus on pro-growth reforms that support the
development of the labor-absorbing service sector. Also,
enterprise restructuring and corporate governance
strengthening must remain high priorities. Finally, China
needs to support structural measures that increase household
demand by raising rural incomes and supporting safety net programs. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 19602
Date: July 31, 1999
This 1997 report projects an increase in
the growth rate of global input. The improvement is likely
to be especially notable for Sub-Saharan Africa, which grew
at around... Show More +
4 percent in 1995 and 1996, and for the developing
countries of Europe and Central Asia. Although the East
Asian countries will have difficulty maintaining the
extremely rapid pace of growth that they have enjoyed in the
past decade, they are likely to continue to grow strongly.
This year's report focuses on the implications of three
important changes in the world economy for developing
countries: 1) Five large developing and transition
economies-China, India, Indonesia, Brazil and Russia-are
likely to emerge as key players in the world economy over
the next quarter century. This will not only create new
opportunities for trade and investment, but will also
require significant adjustments in international patterns of
specialization for both industrial and developing countries.
2) The expansion of global production networks by
multinational enterprises opens new avenues for acquiring
international know-how and participating in the gains from
international trade. 3) Globalization is also posing broad
and more complex policy challenges for governments,
especially the proper handling of the costs of adjustment
associated with trade liberalization. The report also
contains global economic indicators, technical notes, and
classification of economies. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 17072
Date: September 30, 1997
This report discusses the challenge of
extending the benefits of growth to all members of Chinese
society. Government policies, or their absence, are
heightening inequalities... Show More +
when social policies favor urban
areas and economic policies favor the coast. Access to
education, health care, and employment opportunities remains
unequal. And gender disparities in the marketplace may be
more pronounced. Chapter 1 documents national trends of
growing inequality, and discusses rural income growth and
the divergence between per capita GDP growth and personal
income growth. Chapter 2 examines the widening gulf between
rural and urban incomes, and notes that regional disparities
are responsible for a small but growing portion of
inequality. First, the interior lags behind the coast in
human capital development. Second, per capita investment
levels on the coast are two and a half times those in the
interior. Third, natural advantages like harbors, transport
corridors, proximity to world markets, and communication
links have played a big role in spurring growth in coastal
areas. Fourth, regional policies have favored coastal areas
by designating them for preferential treatment in foreign
trade and investment, and for piloting reform experiments.
Finally, fiscal system decentralization has fueled
disparities by emphasizing cost recovery for social
services, and enabling richer provinces to spend more than
poorer ones -further boosting the former's growth
prospects. Chapter 3 explores how unemployment, education,
land, and gender are affecting inequality in China. Chapter
4 shows how policies can harness growth to improve the
welfare of the poor and curb damaging increases in
inequality. The annexes explore the effects of internal
migration on inequality and survey the literature , and
survey the literature on inequality, income distribution,
and migration in China. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 17088
Date: September 30, 1997
Author:
Atinc, Tamar Manuelyan
For China, swift growth and structural
change, while resolving many problems, have created new
challenges: employment insecurity, growing inequality,
stubborn poverty,... Show More +
mounting environmental pressures, and
periods of macroeconomic instability stemming from
incomplete reforms. This report argues that China has the
capacity to meet these challenges and sustain rapid growth
because it has relative stability, a remarkably high savings
rate, a strong track record of pragmatic reforms, a
supportive Chinese diaspora, and a growing administrative
capacity. These strengths can provide a platform for
additional reforms needed in three major areas: First,
market forces must be encouraged, especially through the
reform of state enterprises, the financial system, grain and
labor markets, and natural resources pricing. Second, the
government must begin serving markets by building the legal,
social, physical, and institutional infrastructure needed
for rapid growth. Finally, integration with the world
economy must be deepened by lowering import barriers,
increasing the transparency and predictability of the trade
regime, and gradually integrating with international
financial markets. Chapter 2 enunciates the report's
twin concerns -the pace and sustainability of China's
growth- and examines China's growth potential over the
long term using a simple model of growth and structural
change. Chapter 3 argues that further separating the roles
of government and markets and clarifying rights and
responsibilities will help lay the foundations for sustained
rapid growth and improve the quality of people's lives.
Chapter 4 examines the five areas where government action is
needed to manage the risks to the population that accompany
societal change, including raising living standards for the
absolute poor; providing financial security for the elderly;
providing access to affordable health care; removing bias
against women; and reducing high and prolonged unemployment.
Chapter 5 compares the two routes China could take in giving
agriculture high priority: obtaining grain self-sufficiency
or using trade in agricultural products as a disciplinary
device to encourage efficient domestic production. Chapters
6, 7, and 8 focus respectively on protecting the
environment, integrating with the world economy, and
ultimately fashioning the appropriate political vision to
chart China's course into the year 2020. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 17087
Date: September 30, 1997
Author:
Nehru, Vikram ;
Kraay, Aart ;
Xiaoqing Yu
Evaluating social policies: principles
and U.S. experience. Using randomized control designs in
evaluating social sector programs in developing countries.
AIDS and African... Show More +
development. Privatization: lessons from
market economies. The costs and benefits of soil
conservation: the farmer's viewpoint. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 17525
Date: July 31, 1994
Author:
Grossman, Jean Baldwin ;
Newman, John ;
Rawlings, Laura ;
Gertler, Paul ;
Ainsworth, Martha ;
Over, Mead ;
Kikeri, Sunita ;
Nellis, John ;
Shirley, Mary ;
Lutz, Ernst ;
Pagiola, Stefano ;
Reiche, Carlos
Both as an accompaniment of overall
economic growth and also through a strong commitment to
improving standards of education, health and nutrition for
all, China has... Show More +
compiled an impressive record in reducing
absolute poverty over the last four decades. Perhaps the
most telling indicator of the improvement in the overall
well-being of the Chinese population is the increase in
expectation of life at birth, which nearly doubled from 34
years in the early 1950s to 67 years at present. Other
indicators of social development also document tremendous
improvement. The crude death rate and infant mortality rate
both declined by about three-quarters since the early 1950s,
and illiteracy is estimated to have dropped from 80% of the
adult population in the early 1950s to about 30% at present.
Average per capita availability of food energy increased by
nearly 40%, from about 90% of food requirements in the early
1950s to 115% by the late 1980s. These indicators of social
development in China compare favorably with the estimates
for India, Indonesia, Brazil, and the averages for other low
and middle income countries. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 11245
Date: October 31, 1992
This study reviews the context of and
prospects for China's only Special Economic Zone (SEZs)
that covers an entire province. When Hainan became a
province in 1988,... Show More +
the central government wanted to make it a
special zone that would go far beyond even the other (SEZs
in system reform. It was to have a small government and
large society, implying very little state-operated
enterprise and minimal government. Despite its essential
backwardness, pockets of absolute poverty, inadequate
infrastructure and other difficulties, Hainan has made
progress in economic development, attracting investment from
both the mainland and overseas. Its economy, previously
dominated by state-owned rubber and iron ore industries, has
diversified through substantial growth in services and
small-scale enterprise, including export-oriented joint
ventures. However, the pace of reform and investment slowed
during the national austerity program from early 1989 to
late 1991, calling into question the ambitiousness of some
of Hainan's plans to lead the way in reform experiments
in agriculture, industry and human resource development.
Recently, though, the reform agenda seems to have regained
momentum, as Hainan deals in greater depth with the trade,
investment and fiscal modernization that could propel it
into prosperity. This study also suggests ways in which the
province's reform agenda might be accelerated as the
next key steps are identified and opportunities seized by
both Beijing and Haikou. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: WDP170
Date: July 31, 1992
Author:
Cadario, Paul M. ;
Kazuko Ogawa ;
Yin-Kann Wen
China's ultimate economic objective
is to catch up with the developed countries, while
maintaining a socialist system in which the benefits of
prosperity are widely... Show More +
shared. Major, though uneven, progress
toward this goal was made in the past three decades. During
the next two decades, there could be substantial further
progress. The foundation for rapid and equitable growth in
the twenty-first century could also be laid. But this will
require steering a difficult course, in both development
strategy and system reform. This report looks at some of the
key issues for China in the next twenty years, and at some
of the options for addressing them, especially in light of
international experience. It covers many specific topics,
including agriculture, energy, technology, transport,
industrial location, internal and external trade,
population, education, employment, and finance (health was
addressed in another recent report). Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 13364
Date: October 31, 1985
Author:
The World Bank
This report looks at some of the key
issues for China in the next twenty years, and at some of
the options for addressing them, especially in light of
international... Show More +
experience. It covers many specific topics,
including agriculture, energy, technology, transport,
industrial location, internal and external trade,
population, education, employment, and finance (health has
been addressed in a separate report). The first section of
this summary assembles some of its conclusions in the
context of a more general discussion, of the pattern of
economic growth. Common themes regarding the system of
economic management, and planning are pulled together in the
second section. A third section covers some related aspects
of social policy, and, following the summary a brief
overview introduces the report. The report examines the
pattern of growth, exploring a sectoral balance, focusing on
human resources, and educational potential. The report also
covers agriculture and food issues; energy productions and
uses; and the country's transport and urbanization
priorities. Foreign trade and capital is analyzed,
stipulating China appears to be well positioned to move
toward a decentralized, and mainly indirectly regulated
foreign trade system, without the problems that many other
countries attempting a similar move, have to contend with.
The report argues for a gradual advance, with
experimentation and evaluation at each step. In addition, in
many ways more complicated and troublesome than rural
reform, urban economic reform probably has the advantage of
not needing to be so uniform. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 11269
Date: October 1, 1985
The topics in this book deal primarily
with more or less conventional attempts to measure what
happened to agricultural production and the distribution of
income, health,... Show More +
and education in the countryside. The
approach is both historical and quantitative. Also, the book
describes the many shifts and turns in Chinese agricultural
policy, which can be explained without resort to political
considerations. The book focuses on agricultural production,
agricultural growth, institutional changes, income
distribution, health care, and rural education. This study
is not the definitive work in China's rural development
experience. It is more a summary of what outsiders have
learned about that experience in the past three decades. Show Less -
Type: Publication
Report#: 11157
Date: November 30, 1984
Author:
Perkins, Dwight ;
Yusuf, Shahid
