Book contents
- Demystifying the Chinese Economy
- Demystifying the Chinese Economy
- Copyright page
- Reviews
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface to the Second Edition
- Preface to the First Edition
- 1 Opportunities and Challenges in China’s Economic Development
- 2 Why the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions Bypassed China
- 3 The Great Humiliation and the Socialist Revolution
- 4 The Comparative Advantage-defying, Catching-up Strategy and China’s Traditional Economic System
- 5 Enterprise Viability and Factor Endowments
- 6 The Comparative Advantage-following Development Strategy
- 7 Rural Reform and the Three Rural Issues
- 8 Urban Reform and the Remaining Issues
- 9 Reforming the State-owned Enterprises
- 10 The Financial Reforms
- 11 Deflationary Expansion and Building a New Socialist Countryside
- 12 Improving the Market System and Promoting Fairness and Efficiency for Harmonious Development
- 13 Supply-side Structural Reform and Economic Transformation and Upgrading under the New Normal
- 14 China’s Economic Development and Cultural Rejuvenation
- 15 Reflections on Neoclassical Theories
- Book part
- Index
- References
5 - Enterprise Viability and Factor Endowments
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 December 2025
Translated by
Book contents
- Demystifying the Chinese Economy
- Demystifying the Chinese Economy
- Copyright page
- Reviews
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface to the Second Edition
- Preface to the First Edition
- 1 Opportunities and Challenges in China’s Economic Development
- 2 Why the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions Bypassed China
- 3 The Great Humiliation and the Socialist Revolution
- 4 The Comparative Advantage-defying, Catching-up Strategy and China’s Traditional Economic System
- 5 Enterprise Viability and Factor Endowments
- 6 The Comparative Advantage-following Development Strategy
- 7 Rural Reform and the Three Rural Issues
- 8 Urban Reform and the Remaining Issues
- 9 Reforming the State-owned Enterprises
- 10 The Financial Reforms
- 11 Deflationary Expansion and Building a New Socialist Countryside
- 12 Improving the Market System and Promoting Fairness and Efficiency for Harmonious Development
- 13 Supply-side Structural Reform and Economic Transformation and Upgrading under the New Normal
- 14 China’s Economic Development and Cultural Rejuvenation
- 15 Reflections on Neoclassical Theories
- Book part
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter explores the phenomenon known as the “East Asian Miracle,” which refers to the successful catch-up of Japan and the "Four Asian Tigers" with the developed world after World War II. It critically examines popular interpretations of this phenomenon, including cultural determinism, the Cold War, free markets, developmental state, and export-oriented strategies. Furthermore, the chapter introduces the theory of the new structural economics. This theory argues that enterprises are viable in open and competitive markets only if they align their choice of industries and technologies with their economy’s endowment structure.
Keywords
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- Demystifying the Chinese Economy , pp. 101 - 120Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
References
Amsden, Alice H. Asia’s Next Giant; South Korea and Late Industrialization. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.Google Scholar
Chang, Ha-joon. Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2008.Google Scholar
Kruger, Anne O. Economic Policy Reform in Developing Countries. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1992.Google Scholar
Lin, Justin Y. “Development Strategy, Viability and Economic Convergence.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 53(2) (2003): 278–309.Google Scholar
Lin, Justin Y. Economic Development and Transition: Thought, Strategy and Viability. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, Justin Y., and Tan, Guofu. “Policy Burdens, Accountability, and the Soft Budget Constraint.” American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 89(2) (1999): 426–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wade, Robert. Governing the Market. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. London: Allen and Unwin, 1930.Google Scholar
World Bank. The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.Google Scholar
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