I have been largely off-line preparing for a trip out of the country. I
am a lousy traveller & have never gone so far before. Anyway, I could
not resist this material. Again, I would love to see the China team
jump in again.
Bradsher, Keith. 2006. "China Seeking Auto Industry, Piece by Piece."
New York Times (17 February).
"China is pursuing a novel way to catapult its automaking into a global
force: buy one of the world's most sophisticated engine plants, take it
apart, piece by piece, transport it halfway around the globe and put it
back together again at home. In the latest sign of this country's
manufacturing ambitions, a major Chinese company, hand-in-hand with the
Communist Party, is bidding to buy from DaimlerChrysler and BMW a car
engine plant in Brazil."
"Because the plant is so sophisticated, it is far more feasible for the
Chinese carmaker, the Lifan Group, to go through such an effort to move
it 8,300 miles, rather than to develop its own technology in this
industrial hub in western China, the company's president said Thursday.
If the purchase succeeds -- and it is early in the process -- China
could leapfrog competitors like South Korea to catch up with Japan,
Germany and the United States in selling some of the most fuel-efficient
yet comfortable cars on the market, like the Honda Civic or the Toyota
Corolla."
"What's so Special about China's Exports?"
BY: DANI RODRIK
Harvard University
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Document: Available from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection:
http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=832651
Paper ID: KSG Working Paper No. RWP06-001
Date: January 2006
Contact: DANI RODRIK
Email: Mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Postal: Harvard University
John F. Kennedy School of Government
79 John F. Kennedy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138 UNITED STATES
Phone: 617-495-9454
Fax: 617-496-5747
ABSTRACT:
Much more than comparative advantage and free markets have been
at play in shaping Chinaís export success. Government policies
have helped nurture domestic capabilities in consumer
electronics and other advanced areas that would most likely not
have developed in their absence. As a result, China has ended up
with an export basket that is significantly more sophisticated
than what would be normally expected for a country at its income
level. This has been an important determinant of Chinaís rapid
growth. What matters for Chinaís future growth is not the volume
of exports, but whether China will continue to latch on to
higher-income products over time.
--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Chico, CA 95929
530-898-5321
fax 530-898-5901
