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by Justin Yifu Lin, Fang Cai, and Zhou Li. Revised edition. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 2003. xlii + 388 pp. US$25.00 (Paperback). ISBN 962-201-985-4
Seven years after this book was first published, the second edition comes at a time when much dust has settled and China's incremental approach has become a widely accepted if not admired transition model. That a fair share of the second edition is unaltered attests to the quality of the original analysis. The second edition lengthens the list of problems discussed and adds three new chapters, on sustainable development (replacing an earlier chapter on reform at a crossroad), deflation in China since 1998, and WTO accession.
The jewel of the second edition remains the authors' ability to slice through a vast number of reform events to present an underlying logic that explains economic development and transition patterns in China in seemingly obvious terms. We are presented with a compelling explanation for the slow development prior to the reform period and for the rapid growth during the reform period. China's economic cycles make perfect sense when seen through the analytical eyes of the authors. The success of China's economic reforms suddenly seems beyond doubt.
The authors make their points through twelve chapters, first examining China's development strategies prior to and during the economic reform period, then describing the economic reforms that have taken place in China and examining their successes and problems, and finally pondering current and future developments. The book is dominated by two major arguments. The first argument is the inherent logic of what the authors call the trinity of the traditional (pre-reform heavy-industry-oriented) develop-ment strategy. In brief, since a heavy-industry-oriented development strategy requires...