2 ms·

What would the logic be? If it’s just government pouring money into the economy it would work just as well to spend it on space or science or education or whate

What would the logic be? If it’s just government pouring money into the economy it would work just as well to spend it on space or science or education or whatever. Who benefits from building empty houses as a capital sink?

mads 3y ago
The problem here is that you have provincial level leaders with a 7th grade education who are dictated to up their GDP to a certain number. They know that building something will do the trick and at the same time prop up their personal unofficial finances via bribes and whatnot. So it continues...
- whimsicalism 3y ago
  Most provincial level leaders in China are likely better educated than their Western counterparts due to strict civil service exam and promotion hierarchy of progressively larger municipal management responsibilities
  - Vt71fcAqt7 3y ago
    What is on that exam? Do you have any source for the average education attainment in provincial China?
    - whimsicalism 3y ago
      https://www.ted.com/talks/eric_x_li_a_tale_of_two_political_systems?language=en https://www.ted.com/talks/eric_x_li_a_tale_of_two_political_... This talk is definitely propaganda to a degree, but describes the Chinese administrative promotion system. https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/clm8_lc.pdf https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents... This study indicates that 2/3 of provincial leaders hold advanced degrees. I don’t have the comparative one for the US but I am pretty certain this is not the case for governors. No source was requested for the claim that they have 7th grade education, I’ll note.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
gsky 3y ago
Ghost towns are like roads to nowhere. FYI China has enough houses for all
dahart 3y ago
I don’t know about the mansions in the article, but my (limited) understanding is that the intention is to build cities that do get used, not to leave them empty forever, and that part of the reason is to help relieve population pressures on the larger cities like Beijing and Shanghai. They just sometimes build entire cities before anyone moves in, unlike they way cities develop elsewhere, little by little as people move in.

mads 3y ago

The problem here is that you have provincial level leaders with a 7th grade education who are dictated to up their GDP to a certain number. They know that building something will do the trick and at the same time prop up their personal unofficial finances via bribes and whatnot. So it continues...

whimsicalism 3y ago
Most provincial level leaders in China are likely better educated than their Western counterparts due to strict civil service exam and promotion hierarchy of progressively larger municipal management responsibilities
- Vt71fcAqt7 3y ago
  What is on that exam? Do you have any source for the average education attainment in provincial China?
  - whimsicalism 3y ago
    https://www.ted.com/talks/eric_x_li_a_tale_of_two_political_systems?language=en https://www.ted.com/talks/eric_x_li_a_tale_of_two_political_... This talk is definitely propaganda to a degree, but describes the Chinese administrative promotion system. https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/clm8_lc.pdf https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents... This study indicates that 2/3 of provincial leaders hold advanced degrees. I don’t have the comparative one for the US but I am pretty certain this is not the case for governors. No source was requested for the claim that they have 7th grade education, I’ll note.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

gsky 3y ago

Ghost towns are like roads to nowhere. FYI China has enough houses for all

dahart 3y ago

I don’t know about the mansions in the article, but my (limited) understanding is that the intention is to build cities that do get used, not to leave them empty forever, and that part of the reason is to help relieve population pressures on the larger cities like Beijing and Shanghai. They just sometimes build entire cities before anyone moves in, unlike they way cities develop elsewhere, little by little as people move in.