RURAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN WEST CHINA:

Second Annual Conference of the Consortium for Western China Development Studies

The Ningxia Academy of Social Sciences and will co-host this conference of the Consortium for Western China Development Studies on June 21-22, 2005 in Yinchuan, Ningxia, China.

The Consortium for Western China Development Studies was established in Chengdu in December 2003 by a number of universities and research institutions located in Western China with the support of the Office for Western China Development in the State Council of China, Sichuan University, Columbia University, the University of Michigan, and the University of California at Davis. The Consortium is a non-governmental organization dedicated to fostering research cooperation among universities, research institutions, and government agencies to promote sustainable development in the western provinces. The Consortium will work to raise funds to support research on Western development issues, to facilitate information exchange on development within the western provinces, to boost collaboration on western studies between domestic and foreign institutions, and to improve education in the western region.

The organizers expect more than 100 participants from universities, research institutions, government agencies and business sectors within and outside of China to attend this conference. Many well-known economists from China, the U.S., Canada and other countries have been invited to participate. The coverage of the conference this year will focus on rural and sustainable development issues. The following topics are suggested but others will be considered:

• Enhancing agricultural production

• Non-farming options for rural residents

• Strategies on migration of labor and capital to enhance regional income convergence

• Infrastructure priorities in promoting western development

• Enhancing public governance to promote the business environment in the West

• Foreign direct investment opportunities in Western China

• Economic restructuring and small business development

• Reducing rural poverty in the West

• Interactions between rural and urban areas

• Developing appropriate science support policies to help western growth

• Promoting hi-tech development and science parks

• Strategies to deepen development of the financial sector in western China

• Formulating industrial policies for the western provinces

• Agricultural extension and ecology-specific policies to aid western agricultural development

• Protecting the environment while promoting higher growth

• Sustainability of economic growth

• Economic cooperation with countries neighboring the western provinces

• New institutional relations between center and western provinces to promote growth

• Raising human capital formation in the West

• Mobilizing institutions of higher education to strengthen western development

• Improving institutions and networks to promote public health

• Ways to promote tourism in the West, particularly ecologically-friendly tourism

International Advisory Committee:

Co-Chairs:

Jinglian Wu, Development Research Center, the State Council of China

Jeffrey D. Sachs, Earth Science Institute, Columbia University

Secretariat:

Co-General Secretaries:

• Changwen Zhao, Sichuan University (China Office)

• Wing Thye Woo, University of California at Davis (the U.S. Office)

Deputy Secretaries:

• Yeqian Wang, Sichuan University (China Office)
• Yulong Shi, Institute of Spatial Planning & Regional Economy, the National Development and Reform Commission (China Office)
• Shuming Bao, University of Michigan (the U.S. Office)
• Penelope B. Prime, Kennesaw State University (the U.S. Office)

Abstract Submission

Interested participants should send an abstract of no longer than 250 words to the Program Committee atwestchina2005@umich.edu along with the name, title, affiliation, and contact information of the author (s), or use the online submission form at http://chinadatacenter.org/westchina2005/. Proposals for whole panels (3-4 papers) are welcomed.

Deadlines

April 10, 2005 - Deadline for abstracts

April 30, 2005 - Notification of paper acceptance

June 10, 2005 - Deadline for completed papers

Registration Fee for the Conference

Registration before May 15, 2004: US$60.00.

Registration after May 15, 2004: US$80.00.

Full-time student: US$30.00.

Contact: