Under the conditions of market economy, the government is an independent economic entity, whose function is not only to provide services and handle public affairs, but also to coordinate, advance and lead economic development. The dual functions of regional government include providing service and administration at the micro-level on behalf of market economy on one hand and leading, regulating and promoting economic development at the macro-level on behalf of the central government on the other hand. Foresighted leading means giving free rein to the government, especially regional government, in economic guidance, regulation and early warning. It also means that the government is responsible for effectively allocating funds and gaining advantages using market rules, leveraging market forces and other means such as investment, price, taxation, law, and organizational, institutional and technological innovations to promote the scientific and sustainable development of the regional economy.

Over the past several decades of reform and opening up to the outside world, remarkable economic growth has been achieved in China and has drawn considerable world attention. The question of how to explain that phenomenon and the road China has taken towards its modernization have been the focus of attention from worldwide economists and experts. This book attempts to explore China's economy from the perspective of government foresighted leading which gives full play to government functions, particularly those of regional governments. On the one hand, government foresighted leading enables government to exercise foresighted leading by means of foundations, mechanisms and regulations of market economy. On the other hand, it could reduce government malfunction and minimize the cost of remedying defects. Government foresighted leading theory is an important innovation and contribution to the theoretical configuration of economics. It not only offers an explanation of China's continuous economic growth, but further classifies economics into microeconomics, macroeconomics and mezzoeconomics which includes regional economics, industrial economics or structural economics, supplementing the traditional microeconomics and macroeconomics system.

Unter Szenarioplanung versteht man eine spezielle Methode der Vorhersage zukünftiger politischer, ökonomischer und demographischer Entwicklungen, die das Funktionieren eines Unternehmens beeinflussen können. Diese Technik wird hier von renommierten Vorreitern auf diesem Gebiet ausführlich beleuchtet - so lernt der Manager, verschiedene Implikationen plausibler Ereignisse und Einflüsse systematisch zu durchdenken. (11/97)

Thinking about the Future distills the expertise of three dozen senior foresight professionals into a set of essential guidelines for carrying out successful strategic foresight. Presented in a highly scannable yet personable style, each guideline includes an explanation and rationale, key steps, a case example, and resources for further study.

This monograph consists of six major parts, elaborating on basic aspects of mezzoeconomics, the theory of regional government foresighted leading, the dual-role theory of regional government, the dual-entity theory of regional government, the double-strong mechanism theory and the theoretical configuration of mezzoeconomics as well as the prospects for its development. It gives a full exposition of the core issues, approaches and methodological principles of mezzoeconomic researches, their breakthrough improvements upon traditional economic theorization and the broad prospects for innovative practices. This monograph fills up a blank in the theoretical system of modern economics and signifies a substantial amelioration of the theorization of modern market economy. It demonstrates through forceful exemplification and argumentation that there exists in between microeconomics represented by the enterprise and macroeconomics represented by the state mezzoeconomics represented by regional government in the system of modern economics and that both enterprises and regional governments are entities of market competition in the modern market theory, which remedies the theoretical defects in traditional economic and market theories and redefines the theories of modern economics and modern market economy.

This monograph provides a coherent and systematic explanation of China’s regional economic development from the perspective of regional government competition. It gives an almost unknown exposition of the mechanisms of China's regional economic development, with numerous supporting cases drawn from both China and elsewhere. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone interested to learn more particularly the development and transformation of China’s regional economy from both the Chinese and global perspectives.

The relationship between the government and the market lies at the heart of Economics as a discipline. This title approaches this issue with a new lens termed mezzoeconomics—A branch of modern economics that mainly studies regional economic entities and the allocation of regional resources after they are generated. Combining mezzoeconomic theory with practice in the light of China’s Reform and Opening-up, the author analyzes the regional governments’ participation in market competition, the dual entities (enterprises and regional governments) of market competition, and a mature market economy featuring a strong form of effective government and efficient market. Three corresponding theories are proposed—the Regional Government Competition Theory, the Dual-Entity of Market Competition Theory (DEMC), and the “Double Strong Forms” Theory. The author hopes that these theories of mezzoeconomics can build a new, effective theoretical model and serve as a guidance for regional governments to reform and innovate their governance philosophy and policies. This book will be of keen interest to students and scholars of economics and regional governance.