‘Salty’ Concern: Tackling High Salt Consumption in China

Veena S. Kulkarni, Associate Professor, Department of Criminology, Sociology and Geography, Arkansas State University, USA; and Raghav Gaiha, (Hon.) Professorial Research Fellow, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester, England.By Veena S. Kulkarni and Raghav GaihaNEW DELHI, India and JONESBORO, US, Oct 7 2019 (IPS) China’s almost meteoric transition from a being a low income to a middle income country within a span of four decades is often perceived as a miracle analogous to the post Second World War Japanese economic development experience. China’s GDP rose from $200 current United States dollars (US$ henceforth) in 1978 to $9,470 current US$ in 2018 (World Development Indicators, The World Bank). Unsurprisingly, China’s rapid and near sustainable growth has attracted widespread interest among academics and policy makers alike.

Veena S. KulkarniChina embarked on a set of systematic reforms of its centrally planned economy in the year 1978, which ignited this spark of economic growth. In nearly three decades after the reforms, China increased its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) eightfold with an average growth in GDP and GDP per capita of 9.5% and 8.1% percent (measured in constant US$), respectively (Hofman and Wu 2009). These figures appear more exceptional when seen relative to China’s performance: a) in the pre-reform period and b) by its contemporaries at that time. While China with an average GDP per capita rate of 2.1% was out ranked by several co...

Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - October 7, 2019 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Veena Kulkarni and Raghav Gaiha Tags: Asia-Pacific Development & Aid Economy & Trade Food & Agriculture Food Sustainability Globalisation Headlines Health Labour TerraViva United Nations Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition Foundation (BCFN) Source Type: news