China’s Provincial Economy: Diversification, Institution and Development

Session Submission Type: Organized Panel Proposal Application

Abstract

This panel discusses China’s economic development at the provincial level. Due to different resource endowments and geographical conditions, provinces in China have experienced diversified economic growth and are facing various problems calling for institutional improvements at the provincial level. This panel consists of four case studies on five provinces from the northeast to the south region in china, all using data from the panelists' latest field research. Zhang will discuss the development of grain markets in Jilin and Heilongjiang and how it contributed to the regional economy and affected economic activities in coastal provinces. Hoken will present his study on rice production in Jiangsu Province. Hokens’s paper investigates the efficiency of rice-production in Jiangsu by estimating the treatment effect of participation in rice-producing cooperative and by comparing the local situation with that of Japan. Fan’s paper reveals changes in rural labor mobility in Sichuan. Fan will discuss how the destinations of migrants' shifted from outside the province to places closer to their hometowns and the new trends in pluriactivity of rural households. Our fourth presenter, Ito, will present his study on Guangdong’s industrial polices. Ito’s paper examines the Dual Relocation Program of Guangdong and explains the behavior of local governments in an attempt to avoid the middle-income trap. Our discussant, Mariko Watanabe, will give her comments on the four papers after briefly sharing her views on China’s provincial economy and the slowdown of China's economic growth in 2013.

Area of Study

• China and Inner Asia

Session Organizer

• Xinyuan Zhang, The University of Tokyo

Chair

• Xinyuan Zhang, The University of Tokyo

Individual Presentations

• The Development of Grain Markets in “Big Agricultural Provinces” - Xinyuan Zhang, The University of Tokyo

• Japanization of Rice Production in Jiangsu: An Evidence from Rice-Producing Cooperative in Nantong - Hisatoshi Hoken, Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO

• Structural Changes in Rural Labor Mobility: A Case Study on Sichuan - Dan Fan, China Southwestern University of Finance and Economics

• Local Strategy to Avoid the Middle-Income Trap: Case of “Dual Relocation Policy” in Guangdong, China - Asei Ito, The University of Tokyo

Discussant

• Mariko Watanabe, Gakushuin University