Course directory

OAGE 2030 - China's Economic Transformations since 1978 in Historical and Regional perspectives

OAGE 2030 · Spring semester 2025-2026

Language of tuition
English
Course type
Cours séminaire
Number of hours
24
Credits
6

Information

Description

The objectives of this course are to describe and explain the main drivers of the unprecedented and almost uninterrupted growth of the Chinese economy since the late seventies. We will examine the impact of this growth not only on China but also on the rest of the world, and look at the tensions which have emerged between China and other major industrialised nations. We will also discuss whether China's recent political and economic evolutions signal the end of the era of “reforms and opening” that started in 1978.

Learning Outcomes

  • understanding the key issues facing China's economy today, and what is at stake for the rest of the world
  • being able to navigate through the maze of the sometimes unreliable publicly available information on China
  • seeing through practical examples related to China how globalisation works, and what are its successes and pitfalls

Professional Skills

Oral and written communication, research and analysis, creative thinking (seeing the world through others eyes), team work

Prerequisites

None, but some basic knowledge of economics and of China’s recent history will be useful

Teaching format

Feedback will be given individually after each oral presentation, and collectively through a memo commenting on the main points discussed or missed in the take-home papers.

The professor will also be available through email or zoom (or if possible in person at the SciencesPo premises) for students to discuss questions related to the course or to their work

Assessment

Mixture of (i) class participation for 10%, (ii) oral presentation on a topic related to one of the lessons for 40% (iii) take-home paper of 2,500 words maximum at the end of the course for 50%.

Workload

  • In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
  • Reading and Preparation for Class: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
  • Research and Preparation for Group Work: 4 hours a week / 50 hours a semester
  • Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 4 hours a week / 50 hours a semester

Readings

Main readings 3

  1. https://merics.org/en

  2. https://triviumchina.com/trivium-daily-newsletter/

  3. Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) Website

Further readings 5

  1. IMF: https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/CHN

  2. KROEBER, Arthur: China's Economy, What everybody needs to know, New York, Oxford University Press, 2016

  3. OECD: https://www.oecd.org/china/

  4. Students are encouraged to consult the following sites (and subscribe to their newsletters when available free of charge). The sites of international organisations such as OECD and IMF are valuable for their analyses but also as sources of reliable figures

  5. STUDWELL, Joe: How Asia works, London, Profile Books, 2013

Teaching units

Unit no.Unit type Teaching unitsTeachers Number of hoursCredits
58497Cours séminaire China's Economic Transformations since 1978 in Historical and Regional perspectives Philippe AGUIGNIER246

Teachers

  • Philippe AGUIGNIER

In the curricula

Contacts and resources

Contact
ZANIRATO Tiziana