China Economics Focus Is rapid credit growth in Asia something to be worried about? For emerging Asia as a whole, private sector credit as a share of GDP has surged over the past few years and is now at an all-time high, leading some commentators to suggest that the region could be... 1st November 2012 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Who will lead China? China’s once-in-a-decade leadership transition reaches a climax in November when a new generation takes control of the Party. In this China Watch, we ask who the key figures of the new leadership are... 31st October 2012 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Ten key questions about China’s property market China’s economic prospects depend in large part on what happens to its property market. In this Focus, we answer the key questions on affordability, empty housing and over-investment that will... 6th September 2012 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Can we trust the data? Questions are again being asked about whether we can trust China’s economic data. Our attempts to track the speed of the economy using our China Activity Proxy do not support suggestions of widespread... 29th June 2012 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus A primer on China’s PMIs China’s two manufacturing PMIs are now among the world’s most closely-watched pieces of economic data. In this Focus, we take a close look, highlighting which of the two indices and their components... 31st May 2012 · 1 min read
Global Economics Focus Euro-crisis: how big is the threat of financial contagion for EMs? The economies of Asia and Latin America should be able to weather any financial contagion stemming from Europe’s debt crisis. But the economies of emerging Europe – notably Hungary, Turkey and the... 6th February 2012 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Is investment-driven growth running out of steam? China’s investment-driven economic model is not showing signs of strain at present but growth is unlikely to be as smooth as most expect over the next few years. We have pencilled in a well-below... 3rd August 2011 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Can Asia avoid the middle-income trap? Most of emerging Asia should continue to grow rapidly for at least another decade, and much longer if the right policy choices are made. The key exception is China where, despite a bright long-run... 5th July 2011 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Unravelling the mystery of China’s trade data China’s trade surplus looks much smaller from within the country than it does from abroad. China’s customs data put the goods surplus last year at 3% of GDP. China’s trading partners reported a... 17th June 2011 · 11 mins read
China Economics Focus Is China serious about rebalancing? China’s current account surplus will soon rebound unless the government embraces significant policy reform. The Five-Year Plan signals that there is widespread agreement in principle on the need to... 20th May 2011 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Is inflation eroding China’s competitive edge? The high level of consumer price inflation in China is a poor guide to how the competitiveness of its exporters is changing. Foodstuffs apart, factory gate prices are today rising only slightly faster... 22nd February 2011 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus The investment implications of China's tightening labour market The ongoing structural shift in China’s workforce will cause economic growth to slow and is likely to result in higher, though still manageable, inflation. Household incomes may finally start rising... 14th December 2010 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Emerging markets will not rescue the rest of the world Emerging market economies will continue to grow rapidly over the next few years. But with current account surpluses in most of Asia and among oil producers likely to remain high, this will not be of... 8th November 2010 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus What lessons should China learn from Japan's lost decade? Today’s tensions between China and the US have many echoes of those between Japan and the US in the 1980s including, most clearly, over the exchange rate. The lesson for China is not, as some have... 8th November 2010 · 14 mins read
China Economics Focus Is China running out of cheap workers? China no longer has a surplus of underemployed workers in the countryside willing to move elsewhere for rock bottom wages, but it does still have a large and inefficient agricultural workforce. Their... 29th June 2010 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Is China shifting course? Fears that China is about to slam the brakes on its economy are overdone. Overheating is a far smaller threat than is commonly supposed and policy tightening will be implemented only slowly. 6th May 2010 · 1 min read