Topic: The Development in China and India: Problems and Perspectives
Lecturer:Dr. Christer Ljungwall
Discussants:Prof. Mao Yushi, Prof. Liu Xiaoxue, Prof. Fang Jin
 
 
At the 382nd Unirule bi-weekly symposium, Dr. Christer Ljungwall, Assistant Professor at Stockholm School of Economics gave a speech on comparison of China and India. Dr. Christer Ljungwall is currently visiting professor at China Center for Economic Research, Peking University.

China and India are among the world’s fastest growing economies. And they are also the world’s two most populous countries, accounting for almost 1/3rd of the world population.

This lecture aims to answer the following question: Can India overtakes or catches up with China?

To find out the answer, Dr. Ljungwall visit India twice in 2007 and 2008. During his stay in India, he talked with government officials, business man and scholars. In addition, he has done a comprehensive statistic study on India.

According to Dr. Ljungwall’s study, India falls behind China in many aspects. In all sectors, China’s labor productivity growth is ahead of India. In addition to that, all provinces in China show significant declines in unit labor compensation (ULC) as productivity (ALP) grows faster than compensation (ALC). While most states in India show a rise in ULC as productivity growth falls behind compensation growth. Besides, compared to China, lack of infrastructure in India is still a significant constraint. Dr. Ljungwall said during his stay in India, an India officer told him that infrastructure is unknown in India.

The final conclusion is that India will eventually catch-up with and outperform China is a hasty presentiment. If China manages to re-organize its distorted financial sector and successfully escape a large financial crisis, India will be left even further behind China and, hence the gap will continue to grow.