The Financial Implications of China’s Belt and Road Initiative A Route to More Sustainable Economic Growth

This book systematically discusses the contribution of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to China’s transition from an emerging to an advanced economic and financial system after more than five years. From a historical perspective, it explains to what extent the BRI plan is effective enough to help China bounce back from its economic slowdown and the financial implications in a policy trilemma context. Further, it investigates both the rationale of the BRI and its pitfalls, focusing on the various options for financing the project based on the Mundell & Fleming model. The book also analyses the impact of the BRI as well as possible policy options to deal with China’s policy trilemma in a structurally more balanced “new normal” economic growth model. Lastly, it reviews the financial stability issues concerning liberalization policies in China.

 Piotr Lasak received his MA in Economics from the Krakow University of Economics, Poland and his PhD in Finance from Jagiellonian University, Poland, where he is currently an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Economics, Finance and Management. His research focuses on topics related to international financial market development, including financial market regulation and supervision, mechanisms of financial and currency crises and shadow banking system development (especially in China). He has published several dozen articles related to these above mentioned topics.

René van der Linden received his MSc in 1987 from the Economics Faculty at the University of Amsterdam and is currently a senior lecturer in Economics and Finance in the International Business program at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands. His research interests, with practical applications in education, focus on topics in the field of international financialmarkets, transition economies and emerging markets, banking and finance, international trade economics and doing business in Asia and the EU. He has published several papers on the Chinese economy and financial system and is co-author of the textbook European Business Environment.