Chinese vs USA Consumer: Average Chinese to be Richer than Average American in 27 Years?
Rise of the Chinese Consumer Edward Lazear was former Chairman of the Council Of Economic Advisers for President George Bush. In a recent CNBC interview, he projected that the average Chinese will be wealthier than the average American consumer in 27 years, based on current growth rates. Mr. Lazear is now an economics professor at Stanford University and says the USA government policies should focus on the long-term growth, not the short-term fixes, for the economy.
Sustainability of China Economic Growth The question becomes one of sustainability of the Chinese economic growth rates, first and foremost. The population of China is 1.331 billion (World Bank estimate 2008), or about 22% of the entire world. To increase the standard of living for this tremendous number of people would require extraordinary quantities of natural resources and drive the prices of same upwards. Scarcity, the supply and demand curve, would limit the growth as commodities, materials, oil, and natural resource prices skyrocketed. Likely as Chinese wealth increases, USA wealth will slow or even decrease, until both meet somewhere in the middle. The sustainability of the Chinese economic growth rate was considered in a previous post here [The Rise of China: Living Beyond Its Environmental Means? (Videos) "Relentless march to prosperity"]. Lazear does make a good point not to forget the economic growth of India (1.155 billion estimated 2009 by World Bank). This will put even additional pressures on the demand for natural resources.
CNN "Chinese vs. US Consumer" The average Chinese will be richer than the average American in 27 years, says Edward Lazear, fmr. chairman of Council Of Economic Advisers.
Sustainability of China Economic Growth The question becomes one of sustainability of the Chinese economic growth rates, first and foremost. The population of China is 1.331 billion (World Bank estimate 2008), or about 22% of the entire world. To increase the standard of living for this tremendous number of people would require extraordinary quantities of natural resources and drive the prices of same upwards. Scarcity, the supply and demand curve, would limit the growth as commodities, materials, oil, and natural resource prices skyrocketed. Likely as Chinese wealth increases, USA wealth will slow or even decrease, until both meet somewhere in the middle. The sustainability of the Chinese economic growth rate was considered in a previous post here [The Rise of China: Living Beyond Its Environmental Means? (Videos) "Relentless march to prosperity"]. Lazear does make a good point not to forget the economic growth of India (1.155 billion estimated 2009 by World Bank). This will put even additional pressures on the demand for natural resources.
CNN "Chinese vs. US Consumer" The average Chinese will be richer than the average American in 27 years, says Edward Lazear, fmr. chairman of Council Of Economic Advisers.
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