Economic Convergence In Greater China

Although China's economy has grown rapidly in recent decades, there are still very large differences between the economies of mainland China and those of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. This book considers how far economic convergence between these four territories has occurred, and the prospects for increased convergence in the future.

This book, first published in 1996, focuses on the possible (but problematic) emergence of a so-called ‘Greater China’ encompassing mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and the economic reforms, inward investment, spatial disparities, and changes to business culture that would ensue. The similarities, differences, underpinnings, results and prospects for the future of Greater China are analysed in close detail in the chapters collected here.

Exploring one of the most dynamic and contested regions of the world, this series includes works on political, economic, cultural, and social changes in modern and contemporary Asia and the Pacific.

This book, first published in 1996, focuses on the possible (but problematic) emergence of a so-called ‘Greater China’ encompassing mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and the economic reforms, inward investment, spatial disparities, and changes to business culture that would ensue. The similarities, differences, underpinnings, results and prospects for the future of Greater China are analysed in close detail in the chapters collected here.

This new monograph provides a stimulating new take on hotly contested topics in world modernization and the globalizing economy. It begins by situating what is called the Great Divergence--the social/technological revolution that led European nations to outpace the early dominance of Asia--in historical context over centuries. This is contrasted with an equally powerful Great Convergence, the recent economic and technological expansion taking place in Third World nations and characterized by narrowing inequity among nations. They are seen here as two phases of an inevitable global process, centuries in the making, with the potential for both positive and negative results. This sophisticated presentation examines: Why the developing world is growing more rapidly than the developed world. How this development began occurring under the Western world's radar. How former colonies of major powers grew to drive the world's economy. Why so many Western economists have been slow to recognize the Great Convergence. The increasing risk of geopolitical instability. Why the world is likely to find itself without an absolute leader after the end of the American hegemony A work of rare scope, Great Divergence and Great Convergence gives sociologists, global economists, demographers, and global historians a deeper understanding of the broader movement of social and economic history, combined with a long view of history as it is currently being made; it also offers some thrilling forecasts for global development in the forthcoming decades.

The tremendous success of China's program of economic reform and the rapid integration of China into the global economy have prompted this study on the economic and financial integration between mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan – a grouping sometimes referred to as Greater China. While there has been a plethora of analyses of China's economic interactions with other economies, this book fills the need for a thorough investigation of regional financial and real interactions – corresponding to the many exhaustive studies of such interactions between developed countries and between East Asian countries. Since real and financial integration has substantial implications for the efficiency of resource allocation and the efficacy of macroeconomics policy, Cheung, Chinn and Fujii offer clear analysis of the current state of economic integration of Greater China, thereby helping to gauge the potential role of China in the global economy. Prospects of a currency union in Greater China, an extreme form of integration, are also evaluated with respect to benefits and costs to the three parties. In addition, the authors provide complementary discussions regarding the degree of integration between China and several Pacific Rim economies, including those of Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the United States. Cheung, Chinn and Fujii provide an up-to-date assessment of mainland China's economic development and its integration with its neighboring economies, especially Hong Kong and Taiwan. This grouping is also known as Greater China. There are a number of approaches to assessing economic integration, and the authors present some standard measures – including trade flows, output movements, saving and investment correlations, and consumption comovements. They emphasize the measures based on some key parity conditions in international finance – real interest parity, uncovered interest parity, and relative purchasing power parity. While there is no perfect empirical measure of economic integration, the theoretical relationships between integration and these three parity conditions are well founded in economics. Moreover, the three parity conditions constitute a unified framework that can be used to assess the degree of real and financial integration, and thus offer a convenient way to investigate the interaction between these two types of integration. In addition, the authors evaluate the prospect of a currency union in Greater China, the most extreme form of integration. Prospects of China's continued integration with the world economy, and the implications of policies in Beijing and other Pacific Rim capitals are also discussed.

The fusion of know-how and capital from Hong Kong and Taiwan with the substantial labour resources on China has led to the emergence of a dynamic economy of 'Greater China' rivalling the USA, the European Union and Japan. What is the nature and trend of trade and investment within Greater China? What are the impacts on the world economy? With China's entry into the WTO, what are the problems and prospects of Greater China? These are some of the issues raised within Yun-Wing Sung's book.