Jun Zhang
Jun Zhang is Professor of Economics at Fudan University and Director of the China Center for Economic Studies. Prof. Zhang is a respected economist and commentator on the Chinese economy who publishes dozens of articles every year and speaks regularly on Chinese TV stations. He has also frequently been interviewed by the New York Times, BBC, Financial Times, Washington Post and South China Morning Post, among others. His recent academic contributions have been to The World Economy, China Economic Review, Journal of Asian Economics, Economic Systems and the Journal of Asia Pacific Economy. Over the past decade he has been invited to speak at many high profile events such as the St. Gallen Symposium, J-China Forum, Global Financial Forum (Seoul), The Danish Top Executive Summit, The Economist Conference Shanghai Roundtable, the Shanghai Forum, the Annual meeting of IBM regional leaders, among others.
Papers Published in World Economics:
Poor Economic Statistics Fuel China’s Low Consumption Myth
The generally held belief that China’s consumption is too low is a myth based on inadequate theory, a misreading of official statistics and the use of market exchange rates for making international comparisons. Chinese official statistics underestimate consumption expenditure on housing, they omit consumption paid for as benefits by the corporate sector, and there are a number of problems with the household expenditure surveys employed. An adjustment for statistical issues suggests that the rate of consumption is 60–65% of GDP, not the 48% based on the widely quoted official statistics figures, and is quite similar to the level experienced by other East Asian economies.
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