Rice-based journal research part of training for Chinese economists
Feminist Economics becomes book in China

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

Thanks to the Rice University-based journal Feminist Economics, economists in China will have greater access to comprehensive research about gender issues and economy. The journal teamed up with graduate students in Peking University’s China Center for Economic Research to translate into Chinese its 2007 special issue on gender, China and the World Trade Organization.

Last week the work came to fruition in the form of a book printed by a Chinese publishing house. The book will be used to train up-and-coming Chinese economists.

Like the special issue, the book examines the consequences of China’s opening up to international trade and its transition from socialism to a market economy. Both illustrate how the accession of China to the World Trade Organization and the growth of the Chinese economy have elevated the overall well-being of many Chinese women but have adversely affected others.

“Traditional economic analyses pay little attention to the unpaid sector of the economy and do not adequately theorize how activities like unpaid child and elder care are influenced by government policies and then feed back into decisions about formal work, production and consumption,” said Diana Strassmann, editor of Feminist Economics and professor of the practice of humanities at Rice’s Center for Women, Gender and Sexuality.
 
Strassmann and the guest editor team at Feminist Economics thought it was important to make the research available in Chinese to help inform the understanding of those studying the economy. Xiao-yuan Dong, one of three guest editors for the special issue, said the special issue and book are particularly powerful because there is a growing recognition that China’s economic transition has impacted men and women differently but mainstream economics has proved inadequate for analyzing gender/women issues.

“There is an interest and demand for such information,” Dong said. “Many economists just haven’t been introduced to feminist economic analysis. With this book, we hope to train them to approach their research with a more comprehensive outlook.”

The feminist economic outlook takes into account factors such as who household decision-makers are, gender roles and quality of life. From that framework, the journal research shows that minority women in China are now working outside the home at much lower rates. This may signal a return to traditional gender roles and indicate that minority women appear to be losing out in the more global economy.

Producing the book required more than just translating the published and peer-reviewed research. Because of political sensitivities, certain phrases had to be written in more neutral terms. For instance, “privatization” was replaced by “property rights reform,” “exploitation” by “disrespect workers’ rights,” and  “the Chinese government promoted beauty contests” to “beauty contests were introduced.”

“Despite some of the minor changes we made in wording, the research and conclusions are the same,” Strassmann said. “It’s very exciting to see it published in China because it means that this important work will be read by some of the best economic minds in the country. It can have a major impact on how future economic research is conducted and reported.”

The Chinese book was published June 8 by Economic Science Press and is available in major bookstores in China. The special issue and book were also guest edited by G