PAST Book Launch: How China Escaped Shock Therapy

When:  27 May 2021, 2:00-3:30pm US EDT(GMT-4)

Author:  Isabella M. Weber, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Commentators:  James Galbraith, University of Texas Austin; Branko Milanovic, City University of New York; R. Bin Wong, University of California Los Angeles

Sponsor:  University of Massachusetts Amherst

China has become deeply integrated into the world economy, but the country’s swift ascent in recent decades was never a forgone conclusion. Reformers after Mao’s death in 1976 agreed that it was necessary for China to overhaul the economic system and move towards more market, but struggled over the right approach. Isabella Weber’s new book How China Escaped Shock Therapy uncovers the fierce reform debate that shaped China’s path. Through extensive research, Weber provides an unprecedented look at the economics that facilitated the country’s rise without leading to wholesale assimilation to global neoliberalism.