IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ris/adbiwp/0279.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Causes of and Remedies for the People’s Republic of China’s External Imbalances: The Role of Factor Market Distortion

Author

Listed:
  • Huang, Yiping

    (Asian Development Bank Institute)

  • Tao, Kunyu

    (Asian Development Bank Institute)

Abstract

The current account surplus of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has drawn much foreign and domestic attention. This paper focuses on the reasons and remedies for the PRC’s current account surpluses. Rather than deploying the standard explanations, we argue that asymmetric market liberalization and the related factor market distortion is the root reason for the PRC’s external imbalances. These cost distortions have artificially lowered PRC production costs, raised profits, and improved their products’ international competitiveness which has not only stimulated the economy, but also brought about severe structural risks. We completed a crude estimation for factor cost distortions in the PRC during 2000–2009 which matched its current account surpluses quite well. In order to rebalance the economy, we recommend that the PRC should adopt a comprehensive reform package focusing on removing the factor market distortions.

Suggested Citation

  • Huang, Yiping & Tao, Kunyu, 2011. "Causes of and Remedies for the People’s Republic of China’s External Imbalances: The Role of Factor Market Distortion," ADBI Working Papers 279, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0279
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.adbi.org/files/2011.04.14.wp279.causes.remedies.prc.external.imbalances.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Commission on Growth and Development, 2008. "The Growth Report : Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6507.
    2. Wing Thye Woo, 2006. "The Structural Nature of Internal and External Imbalances in China," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 1-19.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ludovic Gauvin & Cyril C. Rebillard, 2018. "Towards recoupling? Assessing the global impact of a Chinese hard landing through trade and commodity price channels," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(12), pages 3379-3415, December.
    2. Gauvin, Ludovic & Rebillard, Cyril, 2013. "Towards Recoupling? Assessing the Impact of a Chinese Hard Landing on Commodity Exporters: Results from Conditional Forecast in a GVAR Model," MPRA Paper 65457, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Tomoyuki Fukumoto & Ichiro Muto, 2012. "Rebalancing China's Economic Growth: Some Insights from Japan's Experience," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 20(1), pages 62-82, January.
    4. Philip I. Levy, 2011. "The United States and China: macroeconomic imbalances and economic diplomacy," AEI Economics Working Papers 49156, American Enterprise Institute.
    5. Damian Tobin, 2013. "Renminbi internationalisation: precedents and implications," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 81-99, May.
    6. M. Albert & C. Jude & C. Rebillard, 2015. "The Long Landing Scenario: Rebalancing from Overinvestment and Excessive Credit Growth. Implications for Potential Growth in China," Working papers 572, Banque de France.
    7. Dieppe, Alistair & Gilhooly, Robert & Han, Jenny & Korhonen, Iikka & Lodge, David, 2018. "The transition of China to sustainable growth – implications for the global economy and the euro area," Occasional Paper Series 206, European Central Bank.
    8. Antonia Reinecke & Hans-Jörg Schmerer & Carsten A. Holz & Frederik Kunze & Torsten Windels & Horst Löchel & Markus Taube, 2016. "Chinas Wachstumsmodell in Schwierigkeiten: Wie groß ist das Risiko für die Weltkonjunktur?," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 69(07), pages 05-20, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lauren A. Johnston, 2019. "The Belt and Road Initiative: What is in it for China?," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(1), pages 40-58, January.
    2. Antonio Ciccone & Marek Jarociński, 2010. "Determinants of Economic Growth: Will Data Tell?," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(4), pages 222-246, October.
    3. Isaac K. Ofori, 2021. "Towards Building Shared Prosperity in Sub-Saharan Africa: How Does the Effect of Economic Integration Compare to Social Equity Policies?," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 21/045, African Governance and Development Institute..
    4. Sai Ding & John Knight, 2011. "Why has China Grown So Fast? The Role of Physical and Human Capital Formation," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 73(2), pages 141-174, April.
    5. Simplice Asongu & Ndemaze Asongu, 2018. "The comparative exploration of mobile money services in inclusive development," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 45(1), pages 124-139, January.
    6. Kouadio, Hugues Kouassi & Gakpa, Lewis-Landry, 2022. "Do economic growth and institutional quality reduce poverty and inequality in West Africa?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 41-63.
    7. Simplice Asongu & Jacinta Nwachukwu, 2016. "Welfare Spending and Quality of Growth in Developing Countries: A Note on Evidence from Hopefuls, Contenders and Best Performers," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 16/028, African Governance and Development Institute..
    8. Williams, Joycelyn, 2012. "Beyond Macroeconomic Stability: The Role of Selective Interventions in Guyana’s Growth," MPRA Paper 42755, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Quibria, M.G., 2020. "Poverty and Policy in the Developing World: Before and After the Pandemic," MPRA Paper 104240, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 15 Oct 2020.
    10. Choi, Ki-Hong & Oh, Wankeun, 2014. "Extended Divisia index decomposition of changes in energy intensity: A case of Korean manufacturing industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 275-283.
    11. International Monetary Fund, 2012. "Philippines: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2012/050, International Monetary Fund.
    12. George, Justine, 2016. "An Assessment of Inclusiveness in the Urban Agglomeration of Kochi City: The need for a change in approach of urban planning," MPRA Paper 90149, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Montek S. Ahluwalia, 2015. "Role of economists in policy-making," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-144, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Gupta, Poonam & Tyagi, Abhinav, 2022. "Slowdown of the Indian Economy during 2019-20: An Enigma or an Anomaly," MPRA Paper 112704, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Lant Pritchett & Erik Werker, 2012. "Developing the guts of a GUT (Grand Unified Theory): elite commitment and inclusive growth," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-016-12, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    16. Montfort Mlachila & René Tapsoba & Sampawende J. A. Tapsoba, 2017. "A Quality of Growth Index for Developing Countries: A Proposal," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(2), pages 675-710, November.
    17. Aiyar, Shekhar & Duval, Romain & Puy, Damien & Wu, Yiqun & Zhang, Longmei, 2018. "Growth slowdowns and the middle-income trap," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 22-37.
    18. Dani Rodrik, 2010. "Diagnostics before Prescription," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(3), pages 33-44, Summer.
    19. Moller, Lars Christian & Wacker, Konstantin M., 2017. "Explaining Ethiopia’s Growth Acceleration—The Role of Infrastructure and Macroeconomic Policy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 198-215.
    20. Ugbor I. Kalu & Ambrose Nnaemeka Omeje & Augustine Jideofor Mba, 2018. "Financial Inclusion in the Agricultural Sector in Nigeria: An Index of Penetration," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 8(5), pages 35-44.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    prc; current account surplus; economic rebalancing; exchange rate; factor market distortion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination
    • F32 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Current Account Adjustment; Short-term Capital Movements
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0279. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ADB Institute (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/adbinjp.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.