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Yuen Yuen Ang

Yuen Yuen Ang

Writing for PS since 2010
17 commentaries

Yuen Yuen Ang, Professor of Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University, is the author of How China Escaped the Poverty Trap (Cornell University Press, 2016) and China’s Gilded Age (Cambridge University Press, 2020).

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  1. Doing Development in the Polycrisis
    ang16_DesignPicsEditorialGettyImages_colonial_sugar_mill_dutch_east_indies1 Design Pics Editorial/Getty Images

    Doing Development in the Polycrisis

    Nov 25, 2024 Yuen Yuen Ang argues that we need a fundamentally different way of thinking about our biggest global problems.

  2. China’s Economic Paradox
    tai1_GREG BAKERAFP via Getty Images_hchina GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images
    Free to read

    China’s Economic Paradox

    Sep 4, 2024 Yuen Yuen Ang explains a seemingly contradictory trajectory characterized by a high-tech boom and stagnating growth.

  3. How Exceptional Is China’s Crony-Capitalist Boom?
    op_ang1_retrorocketGetty Images_corruption retrorocket/Getty Images

    How Exceptional Is China’s Crony-Capitalist Boom?

    May 10, 2024 Yuen Yuen Ang explains how corruption both drove the country's GDP growth and sowed the seeds for its current economic problems.

  4. Mismeasuring Corruption Lets Rich Countries Off the Hook
    basu93_sesameGetty Images_corruptionbribe sesame/Getty Images

    Mismeasuring Corruption Lets Rich Countries Off the Hook

    Mar 22, 2024 Yuen Yuen Ang shows what conventional rankings get wrong, and proposes a better approach to measuring the problem.

  5. The Moral of the China Story
    ang13_CFOTOFuturePublishing_via Getty Images CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

    The Moral of the China Story

    Dec 11, 2023 Yuen Yuen Ang explains why the world’s second-largest economy has gone from being a model to a warning in just six years.

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  1. muzikarova8_NurPhotoGettyImages_chip_manufacturing NurPhoto/Getty Images

    America’s AI Iron Curtain

    Soňa Muzikárová explains how US export controls are harming allies and potentially helping Russia and China.
  2. hubbard5_SpencerPlattGettyImages_bessent_economic_club_of_new_york Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    What Rebalancing the US Economy Really Requires

    Glenn Hubbard

    US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s defense of President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs as a step toward “rebalancing” the US economy misses the point. While some economies, like China and Germany, need to increase domestic spending, the US needs to increase national saving.

    thinks US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is neglecting the need for spending cuts in major federal programs.
  3. rasoolayub1_Alex WongGettyImages_voa_building Alex Wong/Getty Images

    America’s Voice No Longer Speaks for Democracy

    Heela Rasool-Ayub explains why authoritarians worldwide are celebrating Donald Trump’s renunciation of democratic advocacy.
  4. durostu1_Apu GomesGetty Images_LAfire Apu Gomes/Getty Images

    Insurers Must Embrace Geospatial AI

    Pierre du Rostu touts the technology’s benefits for an industry that must shift its focus from paying claims to managing risk.
  5. gelfand4_Andrew HarnikGettyImages_trump_gesture Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
    Free to read

    It’s Time to Abandon Trump’s Flawed Negotiation Playbook

    Michele Gelfand points out that the best dealmakers strive for win-win outcomes, not zero-sum Pyrrhic victories.
  6. bajraktari3_NICOLAS TUCATAFP via Getty Images_fusionreactor Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images

    America’s Last Chance to Lead in Fusion Energy

    Ylli Bajraktari warns that China's domination of the sector would give it massive economic and geopolitical leverage.
  7. rogoff260_ STRAFP via Getty Images_chinarealestate STR/AFP via Getty Images

    China Can’t Spend Its Way Out of Trouble

    Kenneth Rogoff

    China’s prolonged reliance on fiscal stimulus has distorted economic incentives, fueling a housing glut, a collapse in prices, and spiraling public debt. With further stimulus off the table, the only sustainable path is for the central government to relinquish more economic power to local governments and the private sector.

    argues that the country’s problems can be traced back to its response to the 2008 financial crisis.
  8. mohieldin33_Xie EXinhuaGettyImages_guterres_debt_report Xie E/Xinhua/Getty Images

    This UN Debt Initiative Is Different

    Mahmoud Mohieldin, et al. tout an Expert Group’s efforts to prevent a full-blown solvency crisis in developing countries.
  9. fbirol4_UCGGettyImages_south_africa_power_grid UCG/Getty Images

    What African Electrification Requires

    Fatih Birol & Alain Ebobissé highlight the need for greater private-sector participation to boost investments in power grids.

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