ABSTRACT
I conclude by summarizing the arguments laid out, and the evidence discussed, in this book. Chapter 1 outlines the criteria that I believe we should use in assessing China’s development record. Although GDP per head is the orthodox metric, the case for giving ultimate priority to life expectancy appears to me to be overwhelming. The chapter also concludes that inequality matters, but that the Gini coefficient is far too blunt an instrument. Some types of inequality ‘matter’ far more than others, and of these it is class-based inequality which is most likely to undermine the modernization project. As for the point of comparison, it is suggested in Chapter 1 that we should judge short-run economic performance against some counterfactual notion of potential. In addition, however, we cannot consider a development strategy to be a success unless it builds long-run economic capacity and hence ensures the sustainability of growth and the enhancement of life expectancy.
