Topic: Immiserizing Growth: Some Evidence (from
China with Hope for Love)
(joint with Shang-jin Wei)
Presenter: Xiaobo Zhang
Affiliation: Senior Research Fellow,
International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC
4:00-5:30PM, Nov 30th, 2012
608, 6th Floor, Academic Hall,
CUFE
Abstract
Immiserizing growth – growth that comes with a lower
level of welfare – is usually dismissed as a theoretical curiosity for a market
economy with no practical relevance. We argue that a non-trivial portion of the
Chinese high growth rates in recent years may be a case of immiserizing growth.
In particular, a rise in the sex ratio imbalance may have simultaneously
generated utility loss and additional economic growth that is not sufficient to
offset the utility loss. We estimate that as much as 20% of the Chinese growth
may be in that category.