Fiscal Management and Economic Reform in the People's Republic of China

Since 1979, economic reforms in the People's Republic of China have produced impressive gains in national income and living standards. The process, however, is not complete, and several aspects of the fiscal system need reform before the full benefits of a market economy can be realized. The government needs to be able to control revenue, expenditure, and the money supply. This can only be done if the Ministry of Finance is given greater powers to analyze the current economic situation, anticipate future changes, and guide economic reforms. This book deals with the complex nature of the market-oriented reform process in the world's largest country. Although the focus of the study is on fiscal policy and the broader realm of public finance, it also addresses other economy-wide reforms under implementation. In the long term, the success of the fiscal reforms will hinge crucially on the enterprise, price and financial sector reforms, and on current, or planned, structural reforms that promote market-based macromanagement.