ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some of the experiments, but it does so from the perspective that the initial attempts set into motion the processes of external economy building and cumulative causation. It sets the stage by outlining the Greater Bay Area (GBA's) remarkable growth and the momentum of exports and manufacturing within that growth. The chapter introduces the concepts of cumulative causation and the multiplier effect to explain why exports stimulate overall development. Moreover, during the 1980s, the Pearl River Delta's (PRD’s) exports accounted for more than half of China's total exports and in the early 2020s still account for a quarter, indicating the key role the GBA has played in China's export earnings and development and the core role of exports in the region's development. Meanwhile, Chinese governments on all levels began to introduce environmental laws, usually with the national government setting targets and lower levels of government implementing policies.
