The growth model of the People�s Republic of China (PRC) has been based on high investment and exports, a low-cost advantage, and government interventions. This model has successfully transformed the country from a low-income to an upper middle-income

Since many policymakers aspire to pull their countries out of the middle-income trap and into the ranks of high-income countries, they must understand the factors that hinder or support the transition. This book defines the middle-income trap and examines the roles of manufacturing, finance, and trade openness in achieving sustainable development. The book also explores the role of government policy in fostering growth in the People's Republic of China. A common theme is that such policies may have unforeseen side effects that undermine their effectiveness, including how the hukou registration system and land-use policy control the pace of urbanization.

The paper investigates the situation of middle-income economies around the world. Since 1965, only 18 economies with a population of more than 3 million and not dependent on oil exports have made the transition to being high income. Many more have not been able to move beyond the middle-income stage. We conduct statistical tests of differences between two groups of economies across a range of growth and development variables. The results suggest that middle-income economies are particularly weak in the following areas: governance, infrastructure, savings and investment, inequality, and quality -- but not quantity -- of education. The findings are used to suggest whether the People's Republic of China is successfully progressing through the middle-income stage or whether it may get caught in a middle-income trap.

Trapped in the Middle? investigates whether middle-income traps really exist and, in case they do, how these pitfalls are manifested, their causes, what economic policy measures are required to escape from them, and what international cooperation can do to support this process.

The term ‘Middle-Income Trap’ refers to countries which stagnate economically after reaching a certain level of per capita income on the basis of labour- and capital-intensive growth, and are struggling to transition towards more skill-intensive and technology-driven development. It has resonance for the increasing number of countries in Asia who have either languished in middle-income status for extended periods of time, or are worried about growth slow-downs. This book sets outs the conceptual underpinnings of the Middle-Income Trap and explores the various ways it can be defined. It also focuses on the debate surrounding the Middle-Income Trap which questions the appropriate institutional and policy settings for middle-income countries to enable them to continue past the easy phase of economic growth. The book engages with this debate by investigating the role of institutions, human capital, and trade policy in helping countries increase their income levels and by highlighting factors which enable the shift to higher and qualitatively better growth. It questions how the large emerging economies in Asia such as China, Indonesia, and India are currently grappling with the challenges of transitioning from labour-intensive to technology- and knowledge-intensive production, and discusses what can be learnt from the countries that have been able to escape the trap to attain high-income status. Providing a conceptual framework for the Middle-Income Trap, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Asian Economics, Comparative Economics and Asian Studies.