China’s Monetary Challenges

Richard C. K. Burdekin is Jonathan B. Lovelace Professor of Economics at Claremont McKenna College and was a Visiting Senior Fellow at Hawaii's East-West Center in August 2005. He was previously a Visiting Scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and Assistant Professor at the University of Miami. Richard Burdekin first visited China in 1998. His main research interests include Chinese economic reforms, inflation and deflation, and central bank policymaking. Richard Burdekin has published in journals such as the American Economic Review, Economica, Economic Inquiry, the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of International Money and Finance, and the Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking. His book on Deflation: Current and Historical Perspectives (co-edited with Pierre L. Siklos) was published in 2004 by Cambridge University Press. Prior books include Distributional Conflict and Inflation (with Paul Burkett, 1996); Establishing Monetary Stability in Emerging Market Economies (with Thomas D. Willett, Richard J. Sweeney, and Clas Wihlborg, 1995); Confidence, Credibility and Macroeconomic Policy (with Farrokh K. Langdana, 1995); and Budget Deficits and Economic Performance (with Farrokh K. Langdana, 1992).

This book focuses on such topical issues as the build-up of foreign exchange reserves, monetary control and credit allocation difficulties.

Part I. China's Exchange Rate Regime and Monetary Policy: 1. The renminbi-US dollar exchange rate controversy; 2. China's reserve buildup and global imbalances; 3. Combating inflation and deflation; 4. People's Bank of China policy-making and external pressures (with Pierre Siklos); Part II. The Importance of International Factors, Past and Present: 5. US pressure on China and Hong Kong in the 1930s; 6. Inflation transmission to Taiwan in the 1940s (with Hsin-hui I. H. Whited); 7. WTO challenges and China's banking sector today (with Emily Kochanowicz); Part III. The People's Republic Role within Greater China and Asia: 8. Asset market expansion and Shanghai vs. Hong Kong listings of Chinese firms; 9. Economic interdependence with Taiwan (with Hsin-hui I. H. Whited); 10. Conclusions and future prospects for the renminbi.