Truths and Half Truths
China’s Socio-Economic Reforms from 1978-2010
- 1st Edition - June 30, 2011
- Authors: Ferdinand Gul, Haitian Lu
- Language: English
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 1 - 7 8 0 6 3 - 2 7 7 - 3
Truths and Half Truths is aimed at economic and social science academics and students who are interested in the dynamics of China’s institutional development and societal… Read more
Truths and Half Truths is aimed at economic and social science academics and students who are interested in the dynamics of China’s institutional development and societal transformation. Covering the complexity of the social, economic, and governance reforms behind the economic miracles achieved by China since its reform in 1978, and particularly in the past twenty years, this book provides much needed insight and critical thinking on major aspects of China’s reform. Topics include employment, environment, anti-poverty; urbanization and rural development; education, corruption, political regime and media. Readers will be able to re-evaluate the costs and benefits of China’s modernization from a point-of-view of sustainability.
- Written by highly knowledgeable and well respected academics in law and economics with decades of experience in China studies
- Provides an insight from academic points of view written in a reader-friendly journalistic style
- An integrated monograph; each chapter addresses a particular area of reform and can be read independently
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
List of figures and tables
Note on transliteration and currency
Political map of China
About the authors
Chapter 1: Population and employment
Abstract:
Demography shapes Chinese society – population dynamics and economic implications
Employment reform – from labor system to labor market
Chapter 2: Social security
Abstract:
Social security reform – process and challenges
Pension reform
Housing reform
Healthcare reform
Chapter 3: Economic growth versus environmental degradation
Abstract:
A legacy of ecological devastation
Environmental challenges
Positive government action
Obstacles to sustainable development
Chapter 4: Anti-poverty campaign – the struggle between equality and efficiency
Abstract:
Extent of poverty – dimensions and alternative estimates
Income-earning potential of urban and rural poor
Evolution of income distribution disparity in China since the economic reforms
Chapter 5: Rural land, peasants, and agriculture
Abstract:
Who owns the land?
Eviction without compensation
Playing ‘cat-and-mouse’ with Beijing
Unprofitable agriculture
A threat of food crisis
Rulers of China, beware!
Chapter 6: Corruption in contemporary China – an old dilemma with new features
Abstract:
Measuring corruption
Characteristics of corruption
Dilemma of anti-corruption agencies
Corruption in China’s anti-corruption agencies
Beijing’s entrenched dilemma
The way ahead: ‘selective toleration of corruption’ or radical reform?
Chapter 7: Educational developments and challenges
Abstract:
Basic education
Higher education reform: from elite education to mass production
Half way across the river
Chapter 8: Enterprises, foreign trade, and the financial sector
Abstract:
State-owned enterprise reform
Foreign trade and investment
Chapter 9: Political reform, civil society, media, and international relations
Abstract:
Beyond socialism and capitalism
Civil society: the lost intellectuals and a conservative middle class
Freedom of speech and media reform
China’s rise: a threat to the world?
Appendix Chronology of key events in the history of reform (1978–2010)
Bibliography
Index
- Edition: 1
- Published: June 30, 2011
- Language: English
FG
Ferdinand Gul
Professor Ferdinand Akthar Gul is the Head and Chair Professor of accounting and corporate governance at the school of accounting and finance, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has published more than 60 refereed papers in top international journals including: the Journal of Financial Economics; Journal of Corporate Finance; Journal of Accounting and Economics; Contemporary Accounting Research; and The Accounting Review: Accounting, Organizations and Society. He has lectured extensively, and internationally, on governance issues in China and East Asia. Prof. Gul was previously the Head and Chair Professor in Accounting, Department of Accountancy and Director of the Accounting and Corporate Governance Centre at the City University of Hong Kong. He also sits on the editorial board of several international journals.
HL
Haitian Lu
Dr Haitian Lu is Assistant Professor in Law at the School of Accounting and Finance, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and is the Program Director of the Masters of Science in China Business Studies. Dr. Lu obtained a PhD. In Law from National University of Singapore and specializes in Chinese law, economics and society. Prior to joining the Hong Kong Polytechnic Univeristy, Dr. Lu worked for the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights in Geneva and a leading law firm in Singapore.
Affiliations and expertise
Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong KongRead Truths and Half Truths on ScienceDirect