Micro-level incentives for healthy growth

President Xi Jinping's government is committed to structural reform. China's leaders know that they can no longer rely on stimulating short-term demand. Already this year, annual growth in fixed-capital investment has fallen by 2.4 percentage points to 9 percent, with the private-sector investment up by just 2.8 percent.

The plan now is to implement supply-side structural reforms aimed at boosting productivity and improving the functioning of both the market and the State. However, given China's size and diversity, not to mention its deep integration into the global economy, communicating and implementing new policies across regions, sectors and social groups will be very difficult. If China is to succeed, its leaders will need to think beyond their traditional top-down approach.

Some 30 years ago, Deng Xiaoping used the slogan "delegating power and sharing dividends" to motivate local officials, State-owned enterprises and soon-to-be private entrepreneurs to embrace market-oriented reforms. A similar approach could work today, as China's leaders attempt to address the problems generated by the rapid expansion of imperfect markets managed by an imperfect bureaucracy.