A Luncheon Discussion with James Wen, Professor of Economics and International Studies, Trinity College

Falling external demand and worsening unemployment is putting tremendous pressure on China to boost its domestic consumption in order to drive economic growth. However, China's obsolete land system and hukou (household registration system) are proving to be hurdles in this process. By contributing to the rural-urban income divide and slowing down urbanization and the development of China's service sector, the land system is stifling the growth of domestic consumption.

Professor Wen will address this economic conundrum facing China: What are the main tenets of China's land and hukou system and why is it imperative that China reform them? Why have previous attempts at reform failed? How should the systems be reformed so as to improve China's income inequality and help unleash its domestic consumption potential?

Professor James Wen is a Professor of Economics and International Relations at Trinity College, Connecticut. He graduated from Fudan University, Shanghai with an M.A. in Economics and from the University of Chicago with a Ph.D. in Economics, where he specialized in development economics, globalization and the economies of East Asia, particularly China.