Highlights

Prof. Mao Yushi Awarded the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty

Prof. Mao Yushi and his wife Zhao Yanling attended the award presentation of the Cato Institute's Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty at the night of 4th May 2012 in Washington, D.C. When receiving his award, Mao Yushi said, “I view the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty awarded by the Cato Institute as an encouragement to all the Chinese people who have been pursuing liberty in the past years.” He also made it clear that he would donate the prize money of $250,000 to two NGOs organized by himself, the Unirule Institute of Economics and another poverty alleviation foundation.

Established in 2002 and presented every two years, the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty is the leading international award for significant contributions to advancing individual liberty. The Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman died in November of 2006.

Re-Interpreting the ‘Chinese Miracle’
By Prof. Feng Xingyuan (the first author)

Causes of China’s Economic Success

China is widely regarded as one of the success stories of globalization. Analysts identify China’s　success in terms of high and sustained rates of aggregate growth and per capita national income, the absence of a major financial crisis, and a substantial reduction in poverty. They tend to view these results as the consequences of a prudent, yet extensive, program of domestic deregulation and global economic integration, as well as sound macroeconomic management. The outcome of highly accelerated economic development has been frequently called the Chinese Miracle.

However, the existence of a Chinese Miracle is surrounded by heated debates and controversies related to the understanding of China’s rapid growth of the past three decades. China’s success has defied traditional models of economic growth, and social scientists have struggled to provide comprehensive explanations for the Chinese Miracle. Indeed, most scholars focus their research on only one aspect of China’s economic growth. One-dimensional explanations, such as comparative advantage of cheap labor, identify important contributors to China’s economic accomplishment; yet it seems doubtful that any single variable affords an adequate understanding of the complexity of the causes. More likely, China’s economic development was a result of numerous institutional factors.

For more details:
Re-Interpreting the 'Chinese Miracle': A Multi-Dimensional Framework

Current Events

The Seminar "The South China Sea Dispute: National Sovereignty and International Rules"

The Unirule Institute of Economics held the Seminar "The South China Sea Dispute: National Sovereignty and International Rules" jointly with Sina Blog in Beijing on 14th June 2012. Experts and scholars in international law, law, economics, politics and law of the sea were invited to the seminar to discuss and exchange ideas on the history of the South China Sea dispute and the current international situation from perspectives of different subjects.

The Unirule Annual Board of Directors Meeting 2012

The Unirule Institute of Economics held the Annual Board of Directors Meeting on 12th April 2012 in Beijing, and 12 members in total attended the meeting. Prof. Mao Yushi, president of the Unirule further clarified the responsibilities and obligations of the Unirule as a private think tank and submitted the personnel change plan to the board of directors. Prof. Sheng Hong, director of the Unirule, then introduced the Unirule’s work in the past year in detail. Prof. Zhang Shuguang, chairman of the Academic Committee of the Unirule, introduced the organization of Bi-weekly Symposiums, the publications, as well as the change of specially invited researchers. In the end, members of board of directors discussed and commented on the Unirule’s work and the existing problems.

In terms of personnel changes, according to the result of voting, Prof. Mao Yushi was elected as the honorary president, Mr. Yao Zhongqiu (Qiu Feng) as the new president, Mr. Yao Zhongqiu (Qiu Feng) and Prof. Feng Xingyuan as standing members of the board of directors, and Prof. Zhao Nong as the new member of the board of directors.

The Unirule Spring Outing 2012

The staff of the Unirule went for a spring outing at Baiquan Mountain in April. Situated in Huairou District, the mountain got its name, meaning 'hundreds of springs' because there are hundreds of ceaseless springs in the area. Characterized by enchanting natural scenery, this area is extraordinary with stunning peaks, strange stones, graceful waters, magnificent waterfalls, thick woods, charming pools, and numerous springs and streams. Additionally, there are stunning peaks with distinctive and life-like appearances of animals such as frogs, monkeys, eagle, and lions. During the trip, the participants not only felt the breath of spring and the extraordinary fascination of green mountains and blue waters but also enjoyed the fun of embracing nature.

The Unirule Yixing Forum 2012

The Unirule Institute of Economics held its Unirule Yixing Forum 2012 jointly with Shenzhen Z&Y Communications from 6th to 8th April 2012 in Yixing City, Jiangsu Province. Sheng Hong, Qiu Feng, He Guanghu, Wang Yan, Chen Ming, Wu Bin, Bai Tongdong, Zhao Nong and dozens of businessmen attended the forum. Prof. Sheng Hong gave a lecture entitled “Economic Freedom and Chinese Culture” in the afternoon of 6th April. A heated discussion on Chinese traditional culture and modern civilization followed. During the forum, businessmen showed great interest and raised many interesting questions and opinions. During breaks, recreational activities like picking tea leaves and digging bamboo shoots were also organized.

This forum promoted communication and exchange between scholars and enterprisers, deepened exploration and understanding of Chinese traditional culture, and helped to promote the development of Chinese culture.

News

Unirule Opens Offical Microblog Accounts on Four Major Websites

The Unirule Institute of Economics has opened microblog accounts on Sina.com (Beijing Tian Ze Jing Ji Yan Jiu Suo), Sohu.com (Tian Ze Jing Ji Yan Jiu Suo), 163.com (Tian Ze Jing Ji Yan Jiu Suo) and qq.com (Tian Ze Jing Ji Yan Jiu Suo) respectively. The latest news of the activities of the Unirule will be released on these microblogs, including the insightful opinions at the Unirule Bi-weekly Symposiums, the Unirule Hightlights, etc.

Prof. Sheng Hong Attended the Seminar on Breaking Monopoly and Deepening Reform

Prof. Sheng Hong, Prof. Gao Yan and Prof. Zhao Nong attended the Seminar on Breaking Monopoly and Deepening Reform which was held by Minshang Media on 26th May 2012. Prof. Sheng Hong delivered a speech entitled SOEs and Administrative Monopoly at the seminar.

Mr. Yao Zhongqiu Invited to Give Lectures in Nanchang from May 31st to June 1st

Mr. Yao Zhongqiu gave a lecture entitled “The Rise and Fall of Two Chinese Cultural Traditions—Qin System and Zhou System in the Past Thousands of Years” on May 31st at Qingyuan Bookstore, the largest independent bookstore of arts in Nanchang, and a lecture entitled “The Way of Morality Cultivation for Civil Servants—Becoming an Dignified Gentleman” to all the cadres of the Nanchang Bureau of State taxation on June 1st. He also released his academic report entitled Interpretations of the First Chapter of the Analects of Confucius at the School of Chinese Classics, Nanchang University on June 1st.

Current Researches/Consultings

The Research on Efficiency of Resource Allocation by Administrative Departments in China

The management system of China’s administrative departments is basically still government-dominated, and the functions and powers of some administrative departments involve various aspects of economic activities, such as industry planning, administrative examination and approval, distribution of fiscal resources, manning quotas, etc. These administrative departments possess great power in control and allocation of various resources and rely mainly on administrative means rather than market mechanism in resource allocation. To a large extent, this equals to direct allocation of resources by administrative departments. Without sufficient constraints provided by a constitutional framework, officials at administrative departments are likely to abuse their power, thus leading to unreasonable allocation and waste of limited resources. With the establishment of the market economy, this sort of highly centralized mode of resource allocation and supply is unable meet the demand of social development any more.

This research aims at making a thorough analysis of what sort of resources administrative departments have monopolized, how these departments allocate these resources by making use of power in their hands, as well as the efficiency and results of this kind of allocation so as to give certain suggestions on institutional solutions and policy basis which will improve resource allocation in these fields.

The Research on Land Law Systems

The frequent occurrence of local governments encroaching on the land rights of farmers has now pushed Chinese society to the brink of social unrest. The causes not only lie in local governments’ fiscal problems but also, or more importantly, in the major defects existing in China’s current legal system regarding land issues. One of the major problems is that China has not formulated any basic land laws except for the Land Administration Law which in nature is rather similar to regulations made by an administrative department. Aimed at pursuing benefits or convenience for administrative departments, the Land Administration Law has lots of problems. Moreover, the most recent Amendment Draft of the Land Administration Law proposed by the Ministry of Land and Resources actually further strengthens the power of land administration departments and other administrative organizations and further reduces the land rights of rural collectives and farmers.

Due to the drawbacks of "department legislation" and weak points of the People's Congress caused by China’s constitutional defects, a fair land law draft should be proposed by a neutral social organization rather than an administrative department. Since Unirule is qualified for this mission both in terms of motives and capacity, we’ve launched a research program aiming to provide a reference scheme of China’s land law system in order to fundamentally solve China’s land problems.

Research on China's Strategy of Breaking Administrative Monopoly
State-owned enterprises have been severely criticized in recent years for their tendency to gradually expand in an existing field rather than to retreat. State-owned enterprises not only solidly occupy the non-competitive fields, but also continue to exist in the field of private goods. China's state-owned enterprise reform has now reached a new turning point after thirty years. More importantly, the problem of administrative monopoly is rather severe in China and requires urgent reform. Until this problem is fixed, there can be no fair competition between state-owned enterprises and the private sector. Unfortunately, China's administrative monopoly reform still has a long way to go. This research aims to provide a feasible plan for administrative monopoly reform and to help create a fair market environment with deepening economic reform. This research lasts for roughly half a year and has been completed by now. The initial research result will be released in early 2012.

The Special Planning of Industrial Development in Qianhai Cooperation Zone
Commissioned by the Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hongkong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen, Unirule conducted research aiming to make a full analysis of the current development status and trend of modern service industry in Guangdong-Hong Kong region, to propose a general framework and development goal of industrial development planning in Qianhai Cooperation zone, to make a detailed analysis of four major industries, to propose the major missions and key projects of the development of the four major industries and the construction plan of the supporting service system from the perspective of international cooperation, Guangdong-Hong Kong cooperation and Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation, and to propose relevant measures to guarantee the implementation of the industrial development planning in Qianhai Cooperation Zone.

Research on Large Enterprises in the Marketization Reform
During the process of China’s transformation from a planned economy to a market economy, the interaction of various economic subjects exerted a significant impact on China’s economic and political system and policies. As one of the major economic subjects of huge scale, large enterprises possess a strategic industrial position, large state-owned enterprises, in particular, have a historical relationship with the government and have exerted much influence on China’s social structure and development direction. This research aims at making a thorough investigation on various kinds of large enterprises, sorting out their position and influence on China’s economic operation and political activities, exploring the mechanism of this process and giving suggestions on better institutional plans and policy suggestions so that the government could work out better systems and policies which will benefit the adjustment and growth of large enterprises in the future.

Upcoming Events

The Forum on Breaking Administrative Monopoly—China's Strategy of Breaking Administrative Monopoly Research Report Release Conference

The Unirule will hold the Forum on Breaking Administrative Monopoly-- China's Strategy of Breaking Administrative Monopoly Research Report Release Conference from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on July 4th, 2012 in Beijing Jade Palace Hotel. During the conference, the latest research report of the Unirule, China's Strategy of Breaking Administrative Monopoly Research Report, will be released. Moreover, many renowned experts and scholars will also be invited to discuss the phenomenon of administrative monopoly in China so as to find some solutions.

Contact Information
Contact Person: Yang Hua
Tel: 010-82571544-8000
E-mail: yanghua@unirule.org.cn
liyunzhe@unirule.org.cn

The Unirule Summer Camp 2012

The Unirule Institute of Economics has been dedicated to advocating the idea of "spreading knowledge among the common people." In accordance with this idea, the Unirule organized summer camps each year in different regions. Through these summer camps, we aim to spread the economic ideas closest to the reality of China’s economic reform as well as to provide a convenient platform for researchers and scholars all around the country to discuss accomplishments of economics research and to share their economics attainment and experiences, so that we will gain a deeper understanding of current economic phenomenon taking place in China. After drawing some successful experience from the Unirule Summer Camp 2011 in Lijiang, the contents of the Unirule Summer Camp 2012 will be further extended. Themes of the organized activities will not be limited to merely economics, and will also include discussions on China’s traditional culture. Moreover, noted scholars in culture will be invited to participate in face-to-face interaction with the campers.

ⅠFeatures
A. Face-to-face interaction with renowned scholars while enjoying the fun of discussion, sharing and inspiration;
B. Casual forums: understanding the essence of learning while relaxing and touring the scenic spots;
C. Finding your bosom friends in the seven days’ close contact and deep communication;
D. A certificate autographed by Prof. Mao Yushi will be conferred and the latest research accomplishment materials of the Unirule will be presented as a gift after the completion of the summer camp;
E. Joining in the Unirule family to be informed of the latest news of the Unirule’s activities after the completion of the summer camp.

Ⅱ Theme: Economic Freedom and Chinese Culture

Ⅲ Invited Experts
Prof. Mao Yushi: The Pursuit of Freedom and Getting Rid of Poverty
Prof. Zhang Shuguang: Macro Economy and Venture Capital
Prof. Sheng Hong: A Solidified Institution—Inspirations from Chengdu’s Historical and Humanistic Features
Prof. Feng Xingyuan: Risks of Non-governmental Finance and the Precautions
Qiu Feng: Talking about “Feudalism” by Getting to Its bottom
Prof. Zhao Nong: SOE Reform and the Interests of Departmental Monopoly

Ⅲ Target Participants
Scholars and researchers in economics;
Others interested in economics and relevant subjects.

Ⅳ Time, Place& Charge
Time: July 15th to 21th, 2012.
Place: Chengdu City and the surrounding scenic spots (Dujiang Dam, Mount Emei, etc.)
Charge: 6000 RMB/person

Contact Information:
The Unirule
Contact Person: Yang Hua
Tel：18611321206 010-87935778；010-82562394 ;
E-mail: yanghua@unirule.org.cn
Chengdu City
Contact Person: He Chengqing
Tel：15902802829
E-mail: hechengqing0070@163.com

Unirule Biweekly Symposiums
Unirule’s Biweekly Symposiums are known in China and throughout the world for their long history of open and in-depth discussions and exchanges of ideas in economics and other social sciences. Over 380 sessions have been held and over 15,000 scholars, policy makers, and students, as well as countless readers on the web, have directly and indirectly, and participated in the Biweekly Symposium for close to 20 years.

Biweekly Symposiums begin at 2 p.m. every other Friday and are free and open to the public.

Schedule
Biweekly Symposium No.456 : July 6th, 2012
Biweekly Symposium No.457 : July 20th, 2012

Previous Biweekly Symposiums

Biweekly Symposium No. 450
Time: March 16th, 2012
Topic: Transformation trap or middle-income trap
Lecturer: Prof. Sun Liping

Prof. Sun Liping pointed out that, unlike in Latin America countries, many social phenomena in China cannot be explained by “middle income trap,” such as, social conflicts, serious income gap between wealth and poor, etc. In his opinion, the group of people who advocated reform in the beginning of the 1980s has now become an interest group who does not want to reform anymore. Moreover, they take advantage of their political powers and monopoly powers while using the market system to decentralize risks. He also mentioned the situation in Chongqing and Bo Xilai.

Biweekly Symposium No. 452
Time: April 27th, 2012
Topic: Taking Our Dignity Seriously—Discussing Confucian Ethics and Morals from the Perspective of a Jurist
Lecturer: Zhang Qianfan

Prof. Zhang Qianfan believed that the legal system in China was unfair and there was no trust among people. In his opinion, there is a conception called "dignity" in the traditional Confucian ethics and moral level of the society will be improved if everyone values his dignity.

Biweekly Symposium No. 454
Time: May 25th, 2012
Topic: Western Discourse and the Truth in Social Science Research—How to View and Learn from Western Civilization
Lecturer: Prof. Zhi Zhenfeng

Prof. Zhi Zhenfeng pointed out that there was a great misunderstanding between China and the West. In the westerners’ mind, the Chinese government oppresses the people every day and the people live under extreme misery. In the mind of the Chinese government, the West is an enemy who always wants to destroy China. Prof. Zhi believed that these misunderstandings hindered China from learning from the West.

Editor: Jiang Hong
Revisor: Jude Blanchette