The goal of this paper is to offer a non-technical interpretation of the “Great Divergence” and “Great Convergence” stories. After reviewing existing explanations in the literature, I offer a different interpretation. Western countries exited the Malthusian trap by destroying traditional...

Private consumption is a key component in the rebalancing of growth that China is seeking, and a challenging one. Not only for the 1.3 bn. Chinese citizens, but it could make an important contribution in addressing global imbalances. Understanding what drove the consumption share down to a mere...

China's economy slowed significantly in the first three quarters of 2012 and questions have been raised on a possible hard landing. While recent early indicators have shown signs of improvement in the most recent months, it is essential to understand what is driving this slowdown and how lasting...