Controlling government debt seems to be one of the top priorities for current Chinese leaders since debt expansion and accumulation has reached an alarming level in recent years. However, this paper shows that serious contradictions exist between policy statements and revealed preferences of policy makers. These are not only an indication on whether government debt can be successfully controlled, but also a reflection on more fundamental problems in China’s political-economic system. While economic restructuring calls for financial liberalization and allocative efficiency, political stabilization requires centralization and strengthening state capacity. The difficult challenges facing the Chinese leaders in the “New Era” has put the theory of “authoritarian resilience” to the real test.
This paper seeks to explain how China's trade policy responses to world price fluctuations by considering the role of loss aversion and reference dependence. In order to analyse the effect of loss aversion on trade distortion in one-party dominated countries where monetary contribution may not be feasible, we modify the model of Freund and ozden (American Economic Review, 2008, 98, 1675) to obtain a model in which loss aversion no longer works through monetary contribution but through political supports from politically sensitive groups. We then test the theoretical predictions by using data from China's cotton sector. The modified theoretical model predicts that loss aversion and reference dependence still have effects on the trade distortion in countries where monetary contribution may not be feasible and that the trade distortions are higher (lower) when the world price is lower (higher) than the targeted domestic reference price, which measures reference dependence. Our empirical evidence from China's cotton sector supports these theoretical predictions.
After about a quarter century of countries having pursued deep regional integration through negotiating on deep regional trade agreements (RTAs), we observed a number of historical events that symbolize the curbing of the trend of globalization in 2016. On June 24, 2016, the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union (EU) in a referendum. On November 8, 2016, Mr. Donald Trump, who proposed the “America First” policy and a number of protectionist policies, such as the withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and the construction of a substantial wall on the United States–Mexico border, during his presidential campaign, won the US presidential election.
OHTANI Kaoru’s “Kankoku Saisekki Seisaku no Gijutsu Tokucho to Henka Yoso (Technological Characteristics and Change Aspects of Microlith Manufacturing in Korea)” [Journal of Korean Ancient Historical Society 91, pp. 5–51, in Korean] indicated a chronological model for Korean microliths (microblade and core) based on measurements of their form and size, and discussed the relationship with Japanese microlith culture. Chang Yongjoon’s “Chosen Hanto no Kyusekki Bunka to Kyushu (Paleolithic Culture in the Korean Peninsula and Kyushu)” and “Chosen Hanto kara no Shiten (Viewpoints from the Korean Peninsula)” [Kokai Sinpojiumu Higashi Ajia to Retto Seitan no Kyusekki Bunka: Chosen Hanto/Kyushu/Nansei Shoto no Taihi kara (Open Symposium: East Asia and Paleolithic Culture on the Western Tip of the Archipelago: Comparison among the Korean Peninsula/Kyushu/Nansei Islands)], discussed continuous exchange between the Korean Peninsula and Kyushu regions based on the relationship between knife shaped stone tools with processed base and flake points and excavated Paleolithic evidence from the Korean Peninsula.
