Biggest Infrastructure Bubble Ever?

Author(s):  
Xuefei Ren

Since the early 1990s, China has built more megaprojects than any other country in the world. This chapter examines the economic and sociopolitical conditions in China that have made the massive investment and construction of megaprojects possible, such as the deregulatory reforms in the land and housing sector and the rise of local investment corporations for megaproject financing. The chapter also compares megaproject developments before and after 2008—a tumultuous year marking both the Beijing Olympics and a global economic recession. Before 2008, the hosting of mega-events often legitimized the construction of megaprojects. After 2008, the recession became the new legitimizing tool, as the Chinese government implemented a large stimulus program that directed more investment in infrastructural megaprojects. With the slowdown of the Chinese economy, many local governments today find themselves in deep debt from overinvestment in infrastructural megaprojects over the past two decades. Examples from Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou are used to illustrate the contested processes and mixed legacies of city building with megaprojects.

Author(s):  
Ana Salvador Chamorro

<p>El proceso de reforma económica que ha experimentado la economía de China es uno de los fenómenos de mayor relevancia en la evolución de la Economía Mundial en los últimos treinta años y, sin duda, seguirá siéndolo en el futuro. Dentro de este proceso, la apertura al exterior, que el gobierno chino inició en 1978, ha situado al país en un lugar de máxima relevancia dentro de los flujos comerciales y financieros internacionales. En este contexto, el objetivo de este trabajo es intentar realizar un análisis general de la evolución del comercio exterior de China en las últimas décadas, prestando especial atención a sus exportaciones de bienes y poniendo énfasis en los cambios experimentados durante los últimos años.</p><p>The process of economic reform that has experienced the Chinese economy is one of the most important events in the evolution of the World Economy in the past 30 years, and will undoubtedly remain so in the future. Within this economic reform, the opening process that the Chinese Government began in 1978, has put the country in a place of utmost importance in the international trade and financial flows. In this context, this paper try to perform an analysis of the evolution of China's foreign trade in recent decades, with particular attention to its exports and emphasizing the changes in recent years</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-23
Author(s):  
Grzegorz W. Kolodko ◽  

The huge leap made by the Chinese economy over the past four decades as a result of market reforms and openness to the world is causing fear in some and anxiety in others. Questions arise as to whether China’s economic success is solid and whether economic growth will be followed by political expansion. China makes extensive use of globalization and is therefore interested in continuing it. At the same time, China wants to give it new features and specific Chinese characteristics. This is met with reluctance by the current global hegemon, the United States, all the more so as there are fears that China may promote its original political and economic system, "cynicism", abroad. However, the world is still big enough to accommodate us all. Potentially, not necessarily. For this to happen, we need the right policies, which in the future must also include better coordination at the supranational level.


Author(s):  
Mavhungu Abel Mafukata

The main objective of this paper is to predict the consequences of China's impending economic crisis on global economy – with reference to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in particular. The specific objective of this paper is to investigate and explore the increasing dominance of economic practice of China in SSA. China is a critical principal player in the economy of SSA. China's influence and dominance of the SSA economy might have negative effect on SSA in case of any implosion of the Chinese economy. Data were collected from print and electronic sources extracted from the vast body of empirical scholarship of different disciplines on China in SSA.  The results of this paper revealed that China is indeed dominating the economy in SSA. Pointers are that China's economic implosion would have consequences for SSA in the same way as the 2008-2009 global economic recession had around the world. This  paper positively predicts that China's economic and financial implosion remains a possibility, and would impact on SSA.


Author(s):  
Li Wengang ◽  
Chen Yulai ◽  
Guo Jia

Since the Reform and Opening up in the late 1970s, China has been seeking an innovation-driven knowledge society. In the past decade, the central government and local governments took effective measures to quicken China's steps towards a knowledge society. In the recent 18th National Congress of the CPC, reform and innovation was highly emphasized to give fresh impetus to knowledge society building. Within the context of increasing globalization and Africa-China long-lasting friendship and cooperation, China and African countries can learn from each other in knowledge society construction. As the second largest economy in the world, China is playing an increasing role in knowledge society construction in Africa. Can Africa learn from China's experiences? This chapter provides some answers to this query.


2001 ◽  
Vol 32 (127) ◽  
pp. 377-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E. Daly

In the proclamation that was issued on Easter Monday 1916 the provisional government of the Irish Republic undertook to grant ‘equal rights and opportunities to all its citizens’ and to ‘cherish all the children of the nation equally’. It also emphasised that the Republic was ‘oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien government, which have divided a minority from a majority in the past’ and referred to the support given to the Republic ‘by her exiled children in America’. The belief that the Irish nation included all inhabitants of the island was a central tenet of Irish nationalism both before and after 1922, and the numerous visits that nationalist leaders have paid to the United States from the time of Parnell and Davitt to the present testify to the importance that has been attached to the Irish overseas. In November 1948, while introducing the second reading of the Republic of Ireland Bill, the Taoiseach, John A. Costello, noted that ‘The Irish at home are only one section of a great race which has spread itself throughout the world, particularly in the great countries of North America and the Pacific.’


1995 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-195
Author(s):  
Seiji Hata ◽  

Following the I st congress in Besancon in 1992, the 2nd Japan-France Congress on Mechatronics was held at Takamatsu City in Japan from November 1 to 3, 1994. The congress was co-sponsored by Kagawa University, the Japan Society for Precision Engineering, and l'Institut des Microtechniques de Franche-Comte. A total of 282 persons participated in the congress, 49 from France, 209 from Japan, and 24 from other countries including China, U.S., Turkey, Korea, and Switzerland. Researchers and engineers from a total of 15 countries participated in the congress. The congress continues to become more international and exciting. There are six sessions at the congress. The session names and the number of the papers belonging to each are as follows: (1) Mechatronics, 33 papers; (2) Robotics, 53 papers; (3) Sensors, 26 papers; (4) Vision, 33 papers; (5) Microelectro Mechanical Systems, 20 papers; and (6) CIM & Systems, 21 papers. The total number of papers 186. Additionally, three keynote speakers discussed the current status and future of the mechatronics technologies. The papers were presented at the oral sessions and the poster sessions. In this special issue, 11 papers from these fields are presented to describe the current technological status in Japan. Takamatsu is charming old city near Osaka. The congress was held at the exhibition center in Intelligent Park in Takamatsu, which was newly developed as the technological center of the area. The congress was held at such a location so that participants from abroad could gain a feel for ordinary life in Japan. In addition to the congress, there were two technical tours before and after the congress. The technical tour to the industries in Takamatsu showed the vivid medium size manufacturers in Japan. It is the another viewpoint contrary to the huge companies of Japan. During the congress, there were warm and friendly technological interactions between Japan and Europe. This should be further encouraged, and more countries should be included in the congress. The 3rd French-Japanese Congress on Mechatronics will be held at Besancon, France in 1996. It will also be the first European-Asia Congress. I hope that many researchers and engineers from all over the world, will participate in the congress and that the warm and friendly atmosphere of the past congress is provided at the next congress.


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 248-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Wieser ◽  
Alexis Mundt

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the main characteristics of the housing taxation and subsidy systems in six European Union countries. The structure of this support over the past two decades, before and after the global financial crisis has been investigated and its total effective dimensions have been approximated. Design/methodology/approach – Official national data and existing literature on housing policy expenses have been analysed and the authors add their own estimations of missing data, where possible. Latest changes in housing policy guidelines and expenses were interpreted. Findings – It was found that state support for housing is heavily underestimated by official data in most countries, mainly due to missing estimates for the value of imputed rents tax relief, reduced VAT rates and low real estate and capital gains taxation. Our estimates suggest that total public support for the housing sector reaches more than 3 per cent of the gross domestic product in three of the six countries, and about 2 per cent in the others. State support to the housing sector has developed quite differently in the investigated countries over the past decades. In particular, there was no universal downward trend. Originality/value – This is the first attempt to provide a more comprehensive analysis of national housing policy expenses applying a very broad definition of state support for housing. In particular, we consider indirect tax advantages to the housing sector that are generally not taken into account. Furthermore, we apply a discounted present value approach of current housing policy expenses to facilitate international comparison.


2013 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-443
Author(s):  
Miroslav Antevski

The Chinese model of economic growth has produced impressive results in the past several decades, while the rates of economic growth and exports and imports growth have been the highest in the world. It has been based on cheap money, cheap labour and resources, while the investment basis has been high rates of reinvestment profits. The most dynamic sector of the Chinese manufacturing exports has been processing trade. For this reason, it is called export-led growth model. The new model, which was announced in 2011, should result in some change of the main driving forces of exports growth - apart from investments and exports, consumption should play a significant role. In this way, growth would be driven by a combined impact of primary, secondary and tertiary sectors, by stimulating of domestic consumption, improvement of investment mix, further industrialisation, urbanisation and modernisation of agriculture.


2015 ◽  
pp. 153-166
Author(s):  
Li Wengang ◽  
Chen Yulai ◽  
Guo Jia

Since the Reform and Opening up in the late 1970s, China has been seeking an innovation-driven knowledge society. In the past decade, the central government and local governments took effective measures to quicken China's steps towards a knowledge society. In the recent 18th National Congress of the CPC, reform and innovation was highly emphasized to give fresh impetus to knowledge society building. Within the context of increasing globalization and Africa-China long-lasting friendship and cooperation, China and African countries can learn from each other in knowledge society construction. As the second largest economy in the world, China is playing an increasing role in knowledge society construction in Africa. Can Africa learn from China's experiences? This chapter provides some answers to this query.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Osiris S. González-Galván

Local Governments around the world have taken advantage of social media during the past ten years to improve transparency and to provide public services. Challenges related to information management and citizen participation have emerged, namely at the local level where the diffusion of social media has been slower compared to initiatives launched at the national level. This paper analyzes how the use of social media can reflect a change in the discursive exchanges established between local governments in Canada and Mexico and citizens. To achieve this goal, the use of YouTube by the municipalities of Quebec and Morelia was examined by using digital methods and content analysis. The author proposes the emergence of new conditions between government and users, which are changing the discourse, identity, and communication purposes of the municipalities. However, the development of more dialogic communication processes supported by social media is still a promise, at least on YouTube.


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