Sustaining China's Economic Growth After the Global Financial Crisis

Lardy (Peterson Institute for International Economics) explains China's economic policy during the global financial crisis of 2008-09 and analyzes the challenges China's leadership faces in sustaining growth over the medium term. The author argues that the policies that brought China through the global financial crisis will not be as successful in the near future. Of special concern are China's very low share of private consumption expenditure and its super-elevated share of investment in GDP, as well as its outsized manufacturing sector paired with its small service sector, and its unsustainable rate of investment in residential property. The author contends that fixing these imbalances requires market-oriented reforms, especially in the financial sector, the exchange rate regime, and the price of energy and water. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Nicholas R. Lardy, called "everybody's guru on China" by the National Journal, is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He joined the Institute in March 2003 from the Brookings Institution, where he was a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program (1995-03) and served as interim director of Foreign Policy Studies (2001). Lardy has written numerous articles and books on the Chinese economy including Debating China's Exchange Rate Policy (2008), China: The Balance Sheet (2006), Prospects for a US-Taiwan Free Trade Agreement (2004), Integrating China into the Global Economy (2002), and China's Unfinished Economic Revolution (1998). Lardy is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a member of the editorial boards of the China Quarterly, Journal of Asian Business, China Review, and China Economic Review.