- P-ISSN 2586-2995
- E-ISSN 2586-4130
KDI Journal of Economic Policy. Vol. 46, No. 1, February 2024, pp. 1-19
https://doi.org/10.23895/kdijep.2024.46.1.1
This paper evaluates explanations for China’s growth slowdown. The natural tendency for rapidly growing economies to slow down is a major factor, along with problems bequeathed by unbalanced growth, including a declining ICOR, slowing total factor productivity growth, and rising indebtedness. A number of other mechanisms are of lesser importance: demographics, President Xi’s centralization of political power and anti-corruption campaign, and U.S. export controls. Sustaining growth in the longer term will require China to step away from investment, debt and export-fueled growth in favor of a balanced growth model with household consumption playing a larger role. Doing so will require hardening of the budget constraints of regional and local governments and restructuring of the nonperforming debts of property and construction companies.
China, Growth Slowdowns, Economic Growth, Debt
E02, O10, O11