An Austrian Analysis of China´s Unsustainable Boom

Howden, David and XingBin Li, Jason (2015): An Austrian Analysis of China´s Unsustainable Boom. Published in: Economic Affairs , Vol. 3, No. 35 (2015): pp. 443-452.

Abstract

Austrian Business Cycle Theory can shed light on the ways in which the current Chinese economic boom is unsustainable. On the one hand, government interventions, such as land monopolies, have raised costs for real estate developers. By limiting the availability of investment instruments and access to external markets, government interventions have created a strong demand for housing as a hedging tool. On the other hand, a loose monetary policy and artificially low interest rates have made the property market tempting for developers. Over-construction and over-consumption in the housing sector epitomise the capital structure analysis that Austrian economists regard as the core of their business cycle theory.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Austrian Business Cycle Theory; capital structure; China; housing bubble
• Subjects: B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches > B53 - Austrian; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E3 - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles > E32 - Business Fluctuations ; Cycles; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E5 - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit > E58 - Central Banks and Their Policies; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R3 - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location > R31 - Housing Supply and Markets; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R5 - Regional Government Analysis > R52 - Land Use and Other Regulations

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