Nishdog,
I've to say that both of your points are conjectures only.
Originally posted by Nishdog
Why is China far ahead of India in trade and all? Because there is somebody in China controlling and keeping an eye on companies and production: the government. Is there corruption in China? Of course, there is corruption everywhere there is money to be made. But corruption is MUCH higher in India because the government doesn't monitor companies and individuals as closely.
Since the reform beginning in 1978, China government has gradually lost the tight control over the national economy, which china government enjoyed for over three decades. The private firms and foreign firm are booming, and now state-controlled sectors account for less than 1/3 of the Chinese economy. So the claim that China has tight control over firms and workers are unfounded. Also, the level of corruption has nothing to do with whether the government monitor the companies and individuals or not. It depends on the justice system and law enforcement.
Actually China government is very inefficient in collecting taxes. The tax revenue of China is less than 10% of the GDP, compared to the 17.5% of US.
Another issue that you guys already mentioned is that the Chinese government treats their workers like dirt...but I'm thinking that it doesn't stop with just the sweatshop workers making shoes in some factory at less than a penny per month or something like that. If you've ever noticed if you're in the States, there are a lot of highly trained and educated Indian people moving to the States from India each year: doctors, computer nerds, engineers and the such. They are educated in India for most their lives, then move to the US (or England, Canada, etc...) for higher education or for a job later in life. You don't see as many Chinese people like that around...I think China keeps a tighter leash on highly educated and trained people...so China probably has a higher-skilled workforce than India.
First, there're many Chinese pursuing high education in US universities. I don't have the exact number, but I believe there're more Chinese students in US universities than any other single country. You may see more Indian because large scale of Chinese students began to come the States only in late 1980s, while Indians began much earlier. But this is not the issue here.
Second, as to the sweatshop issue, I've a totally different view. The workers, even though they're making less than $1 per hour, are still much better off than if they don't have that job. If they don't have any job, their lives are much more miserable. So we should think of the work enviornment issue in combination with the per capital income. Chinese workers have a much better working enviornment than US workers in early last century, when US have a similar per capita income level. And just for the record, it's not that I have no sympacy with those poor workers, but people have to make a living first.
So come back to the topic of this thread. IMO, first, the communist authotorian government helped a lot in the beginning of the economic development. China government squeezed consumptions in 1950s, and used those revenues to build a massive heavy industry sector, which laid good ground for future development. This couldn't be possible in a demacracy. Second, China enjoys a larger population, and higher income, and thus a larger market, which attracted many foreign investments. Third, China has Hong Kond, which was the major foreign investment source for the whole 1980s and early 1990s. And foreign investment was one of the most important stimulating force for China's economic development. Forth, China much spent less in military expenses. Fifth, China still have plenty of cheap labor supplies, while India does not.
There surely are other reasons too, these reasons I can think of right now. Basicly only the first point is related with a authotorian government.
man, this is a long post.
), the then FM, did it for India. It has been a game of catch up, but the leadership needs to sustain liberalisation and the policy of disinvetment.
What good are business skills in Communism.
