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Growth, Reforms, and Inequality: Comparing India and China

Amiya Kumar Bagchi and Anthony P. D’Costa

in Transformation and Development: The Political Economy of Transition in India and China

This chapter addresses two main questions. First, what is the trend in inequality in India and China? Second, what additional information can be obtained by decomposing aggregate trends in terms of: ... More

This chapter addresses two main questions. First, what is the trend in inequality in India and China? Second, what additional information can be obtained by decomposing aggregate trends in terms of: (a) regional variations, and (b) the urban-rural divide? To answer these questions, income and consumption inequality in China are compared with consumption inequality in India in the post-reform period over three (roughly comparable) points in time. Based primarily on economic analysis, it is shown that both countries need to develop special, comprehensive, and timely measures sensitive to their specific contexts to tackle the various dimensions of inequality—particularly the rapidly growing urban-rural divide—in order to attain their goal of increased economic prosperity without social upheaval.Less

Retrospect

Richard Bowring

in In Search of the Way: Thought and Religion in Early—Modern Japan, 1582-1860

This retrospect is a short appraisal of the narrative told in this book, emphasizing the degree to which Song–Ming Neo-Confucianism acted as a constant sounding board throughout the period, a period ... More

This retrospect is a short appraisal of the narrative told in this book, emphasizing the degree to which Song–Ming Neo-Confucianism acted as a constant sounding board throughout the period, a period which in European terms stretched from Queen Elizabeth I of England to the Communist manifesto. It is this remarkable consistency that ties someone like Hayashi Razan at the beginning of the period to Aizawa Seishisai at the end and makes sense of the term ‘Tokugawa period’. Not that Neo-Confucianism ruled supreme; it remained an élite concern. On the ground, Buddhism, somewhat ironically, increased its hold over the population and Shintō grew in ways that would eventually allow it to play the major role in Japan’s modern period. The narrative has taken us from the unification of the country to the cusp of the modern, when alien, outside forces were needed to bring about change.Less

The Gusuku Period

Mamoru Akamine

Robert Huey (ed.)

in The Ryukyu Kingdom: Cornerstone of East Asia

This chapter looks at the Gusuku period (roughly the fifteenth century), when Ryukyu was divided into two cultural spheres – northern and southern. This period saw the rise of local fiefs, and ... More

This chapter looks at the Gusuku period (roughly the fifteenth century), when Ryukyu was divided into two cultural spheres – northern and southern. This period saw the rise of local fiefs, and increased trade between them and others in East Asia (Japan, China, Korea, etc.). The chapter describes how Song China developed an East Asian Trade sphere that encompassed all the surrounding countries, including the various fiefdoms in the Ryukyu Islands. The Ryukyus specialized in sulphur and mother-of-pearl, both in high demand in the region. As Japan ceased trading directly with China, Ryukyu became an important go-between.Less

The Incomes of the Plutocrats in a Comparative Perspective

Francis Teal

in The Poor and the Plutocrats: From the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich

We now move to examine the top of the income distribution and begin by asking whether Mr Darcy, the central male character in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, would be regarded as a plutocrat ... More

We now move to examine the top of the income distribution and begin by asking whether Mr Darcy, the central male character in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, would be regarded as a plutocrat today. If his income were converted to contemporary amounts it would be some £600,000. We show that Mr Darcy would need to earn some £8 million to be as rich as his nineteenth-century predecessor relative to the average wage. To understand how those super-high incomes arise, we introduce the Paretian distribution which we do first informally and then more formally. It is a distribution of this form which could produce what we see, a few very highly paid individuals whose incomes—up in the stratosphere of the super-rich—would still be very spread out. We use the Paretian distribution to estimate the number of plutocrats in the US, the UK, and China and show the incomes of the richest of the rich.Less

The Silk Road between Syria and China

David F. Graf

in Trade, Commerce, and the State in the Roman World

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the archaeological and written evidence for the so-called Silk Roads and the development of trade along them between the second century BC and the ... More

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the archaeological and written evidence for the so-called Silk Roads and the development of trade along them between the second century BC and the end of the Han dynasty in the early second century AD. The Silk Road trade at the Chinese end originated epiphenomenally on the practice of state tribute and diplomatic embassies, as tribute in kind and diplomatic gifts were resold by their enterprising recipients. As trade developed along the routes westwards and gained its own momentum, its value was harnessed by the state in the form of heavy customs dues. Rather than a coordinated route utilized by merchants travelling the length of the terrain between China and Rome, the picture emerging is that of segmented trade involving various merchants.Less

Different Worlds: US and Indian Policies toward Nationalist Movements in Asia, Communist Victory in China, and the Chinese Claim to Tibet

Francine R. Frankel

in When Nehru Looked East: Origins of India-US Suspicion and India-China Rivalry

Nehru considered the establishment of Mao’s People’s Republic of China an event of historical importance, transcending the Cold War and signaling the resurgence of free Asia. But China had never ... More

Nehru considered the establishment of Mao’s People’s Republic of China an event of historical importance, transcending the Cold War and signaling the resurgence of free Asia. But China had never accepted the northern boundary with India, known as the McMahon Line, asserting it had been drawn by British imperialists intent on diminishing its control over Tibet. India, militarily much weaker than China, adopted a policy of unwavering friendship toward China as the best approach to securing a diplomatic solution to the border dispute. Once China entered an alliance with the Soviet Union, the United States perceived an expanded communist threat. Nehru, reiterating India’s nonalignment, advanced the notion of Asianism to consolidate Indian-China solidarity.Less

The Epistemology of Space in The Tale of Genji

Wiebke Denecke

in Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji: Philosophical Perspectives

Although The Tale of Genji is today the quintessentially Japanese national classic, its engagement with China shapes the tale on virtually every page. This essay argues that Murasaki Shikibu was ... More

Although The Tale of Genji is today the quintessentially Japanese national classic, its engagement with China shapes the tale on virtually every page. This essay argues that Murasaki Shikibu was keenly interested in philosophical questions of how humans experience space and that China played a pivotal role in formulating and engaging these questions. As a Heian woman she had no access to the world of Chinese-style poetry composition or the Confucian Academy, but she deploys China as a marker of spatial or temporal difference that inspires her probing of fundamental questions: How can spaces convey moods and structure human experience? How can a woman narrate inaccessible male spaces? This essay shows how philosophical questions about the experience and description of space drive the tale’s plot and character portrayal and how this “epistemology of space” is predicated on the manifold presences of China at the heart of the Genji’s brilliant narrative art and psychological depth.Less

China’s Global Military-Security Interactions

Phillip C. Saunders

in China and the World

China’s national security calculations have become increasingly global in nature. The expansion of Beijing’s international military-security footprint has paralleled its diplomatic, economic, and ... More

China’s national security calculations have become increasingly global in nature. The expansion of Beijing’s international military-security footprint has paralleled its diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties. This includes a range of military and security cooperation programs with other countries, involvement in multilateral security organizations, and unilateral developments undertaken by China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). This chapter reviews China’s overseas security interests and the military missions the PLA has been tasked to perform by CCP leaders. It then discusses the PLA’s organization and capabilities, with an emphasis on those relevant for operating beyond China’s borders. China’s military and security interactions include traditional military missions (mostly focused on Asia), military diplomacy efforts to support Chinese foreign policy objectives by engaging foreign military counterparts and providing public goods, and a new emphasis on protecting China’s expanding overseas economic and security interests.Less

Britain’s Informal Empire: Argentina, Egypt, China

Atul Kohli

in Imperialism and the Developing World: How Britain and the United States Shaped the Global Periphery

This chapter analyzes Britain’s informal empire in Argentina, Egypt, and China during the nineteenth century. The evidence is overwhelming that Britain’s primary concern in these regions was economic ... More

This chapter analyzes Britain’s informal empire in Argentina, Egypt, and China during the nineteenth century. The evidence is overwhelming that Britain’s primary concern in these regions was economic gain, without force if possible, but with force if necessary. The main mechanism of influence was to create and sustain stable-but-subservient governments in the peripheral countries. Once such regimes were established in client states, informal empire was sustained via a degree of cooperation between the metropolitan and the peripheral elite. The British gained handsomely from such arrangements, especially because they facilitated profitable trade, investments, and loans. Peripheral countries in turn experienced some economic growth but the pattern of development was lop-sided; these countries became commodity exporters without undergoing much industrialization.Less

Conclusions: The Rise and Decline of the Liberal International Order

Hanns W. Maull

in The Rise and Decline of the Post-Cold War International Order

This chapter compares the developments in the nine partial orders surveyed, looking at legitimacy and effectiveness; the incidence of violence; their principles, rules, norms, and institutions; rules ... More

This chapter compares the developments in the nine partial orders surveyed, looking at legitimacy and effectiveness; the incidence of violence; their principles, rules, norms, and institutions; rules enforcement through collective sanctions; dominant actors and interaction patterns; and their evolution over time. It then assesses the roles and performances of the USA and the People’s Republic of China as “ordering powers” and summarizes the characteristics of changes in the international order since 1990. What emerges is a paradox: the world needs more international order and global governance, but recent changes have mostly been in the opposite direction. The final section offers observations about the causes for this paradoxical decline of the post-Cold War order and reflects on the implications of what has been happening for the future of international order.Less

Enduring Burmese Realities

Renaud Egreteau

in Caretaking Democratization: The Military and Political Change in Myanmar

This chapter seeks to provide a realistic assessment of the other long-term challenges that continue to plague Myanmar. While many are not necessarily hindering democratization, all pose considerable ... More

This chapter seeks to provide a realistic assessment of the other long-term challenges that continue to plague Myanmar. While many are not necessarily hindering democratization, all pose considerable threats to the stability of the country and the long-term process of national reconciliation. Prominent among them is the multifaceted political and social clientelisms that are entrenched in Burmese society. Such is the case for the oligarchical structuration and weaknesses of the national economy, as well as Myanmar’s peculiar geography. This chapter looks at why the country cannot avoid considering the impact that its geopolitical situation has long imposed on its domestic developments. Myanmar’s position at the crossroads of India and China, where politics remains volatile and democratic consolidation is an endlessly moving target, may provide the military with incentives to remain involved in politics.Less