Useful Chinese lessons for the world's economists

I started economics graduate school at UCLA in the fall of 1977, almost exactly one year before the famous Third Plenum in December 1978 officially kicked off China's reform and opening-up.

I must admit that neither I nor almost any other Western economists paid much attention to China at the time. No one predicted the 40-plus years of persistent and rapid growth that were to follow.

To me, long-term rapid growth in the real wages of average people is the most amazing factor. From 1995 to 2015, median wages grew at 11 percent per year - significantly faster than the growth rate of GDP. This means that an increasing portion of the national product went to workers.