Urbanization and Economic Growth in China

Date: January 21, 2015

Time: 8:00AM EST

Themes: Planning, Finance and Governance

Speaker: Karlis Smits, Senior Economist, Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management Global Practice, The World Bank Group

About the Course

Structural change and reforms have been a key driver of rapid growth in China: over the last decades China specialized into new industries, its people moved to new locations and firms adapted to new global markets. But China’s urbanization and economic growth is at a crossroads. Gains from spatial reallocation of resources are set to decline and exports can no longer be a driver of economic growth. Because urbanization is one of the most important enabling processes in growth, making it work well is critical.

Target audience

Practitioners, NGOs, scholars, international development community, think tanks and policy makers

Register here

Karlis Smits

Senior Economist, Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management Global Practice, The World Bank Group
Karlis Smits is currently a senior economist based in Beijing covering Macroeconomic and economic policy issues in China. Recent activities include leading a pillar report on economic growth for the China Urbanization study and a lead author of China Economic Update. Karlis has worked at the World Bank since 2006. He has held assignments focusing on issues of economic growth, structural reforms and fiscal policy in Russia, Turkey, Belarus and Moldova. Prior to joining the World Bank, Karlis worked as a deputy director of economic policy department at the Ministry of Economy in Latvia on a broad set of economic policy issues (investment and employment policies). He holds a PhD in Economics from the Queen's University in Canada.

Urban China: Toward Efficient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Urbanization

China can save a total $1.4 trillion （15% of last year's GDP) if it builds more efficient, denser cities. A new World Bank-China joint report recommends using those savings to expand social services to all people -- including migrants.

Download the Report PDF (20.66Mb)

In collaboration with Development Research Center of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.