China’s GNP is close to, or larger than, that of the US and the per-capita income gap between the countries is closing. Despite this, Chinese economists are absent from the rankings of top academic economists and none has received the Nobel Prize in Economics. There are five possible reasons why such a huge gap between the economy and economic research exists. Economic development might not need academic economists. The Chinese may have copied insights from Western, and in particular American, economic research. American academic economists might dictate the paradigm of what accepted economic research is, leaving China out. The measurement of scholarly prominence may be mistaken. The internal market may … Continue reading Bruno S. Frey