China has lifted nearly 800 million people out of extreme poverty, arguably the greatest achievement in poverty reduction in human history. Even so, no mainland Chinese economist has won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
Across the Pacific, the United States has produced about 75 per cent of Nobel economics laureates, even as its economy staggers under mounting public debt, chronic fiscal deficits, and recurring financial crises and government shutdowns.
Of the 99 economics laureates ever awarded, only two are from Asia. Amartya Sen was honoured for his contribution to welfare economics and Abhijit Banerjee for his work in alleviating global poverty. Both are from India, not China. Why such an anomaly?
The short answer strikes at the heart of the matter: economics in the West and economics in China serve different purposes and recognise different kinds of achievements.