Abstract
Published in the September 4, 2008 issue of The Economist, this article is based on "Reserve army of underemployed - Is China's pool of surplus labor drying up? According to the article, China's growth model has been based on its cheap labor force, supported by its huge population. The country is the most populated in the world, with more than 1.3 billion people. Yet, wages are increasing, due to the slowdown of the labor force available, resulted by the slowdown of the population growth and of rural-urban migration. If some are worried that this phenomenon could mean the end of the Chinese growth model, others think that those fears are premature, that solutions exist, and last but not least, that the situation will enable China to face its new challenge: to deal with a real and complete economic development, and a high economic growth. Analyzing this article leads us to the following question: Is the current slowdown of the surplus labor force and the increase of the wages a reality and a fatality as well? Does it mean the end of China's growth model or the advent of a new era characterized by the quest for an effective economic development?
