[1/2] The Chinese model. Why China lagged behind the West and is now overtaking it (Category Economics)

I read it with great interest. book Vladimir Popov, Doctor of Economics, Professor and Specialist in Economic Development and Transitional Economies. Popov has long worked in leading research centers both in Russia and abroad. He has established himself as an expert in comparative economic development. Popov is especially famous for his research into the causes of successes and failures of various development models, from shock therapy and gradual reforms in post-socialist countries to the phenomenon of the East Asian economic miracle. His new book on the “Chinese model” is actually the result of many years of research on this topic, based on both academic data and personal experience of the author. (Popov often visited China, fluent in several languages, including Chinese.).

The main idea of the book is to understand the origins and features of the phenomenal breakthrough of China and East Asia in general and to assess how competitive the “Chinese model” of development is than the Western liberal model. To do this, Popov formulates three key questions around which the narrative is built. 1Why China (Other East Asian countries that have historically relied on the Chinese civilization model.) in the XVIII-XIX centuries significantly lagged behind in development - not only from the West, but also from some other developing regions? What prevented China from catching up with Europe? 2How is it that since the middle of the twentieth century, East Asia has become the only major region that has managed to rapidly reduce the gap with the West in terms of economic level? In other words, what is special about the politics and economic strategy of China and its neighbors? (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc.)What if they went from being outsiders to world leaders? 3Is China’s current socioeconomic model – based on the priority of public interests over private ones, on so-called “Asian values” – more viable and competitive than the liberal Western model? How will the rivalry between these two systems end?

The author answers these questions in the 6 Parts whose name allows you to evaluate the direction of the author's thought

Part I. Why did the West get rich before China, and why is China now catching up with the West? Historical retrospective of the period from about the XVI to the beginning of the XX century, when there was the famous “great divergence”: Europe moved forward, and China was left behind Part II. “Socialism alone will save China?” After the revolution 1949 The period of Maoist China. After the founding of the PRC, 1949 In the past year, the country has taken the socialist path. Here you can see what successes and mistakes China achieved during the rule of Mao Zedong. Part III. Will capitalism alone save China? After 1979Why China Accelerated in the Transition to the Market and Russia Slowed, is the central part of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms and subsequent decades of rapid growth. Here is a detailed understanding of how China introduced market elements into the planned economy and achieved a leap forward. Part IV. “Will democracy alone save China?” – China’s shift from economy to political and institutional dimensions (approximately the modern period, the turn of XX-XXI centuries.) Part V: Will China alone save capitalism? 20 Years ahead" - the final section looking to the future. It looks at a global perspective: what the world might look like in the coming decades if the Chinese model continues to gain influence.

The book was very interesting and I read it in paperWhich I recommend to you. And next post I will tell you about Popov’s six-step model of China’s development and what other countries can learn from it.

#Economics #Strategy #Processes #History #PopularScience