Olympics highlights China's development but also the risks

With the eyes of the world focused on the Olympic Games, China is under the spotlight more than ever...

With the eyes of the world focused on the Olympic Games, China is under the spotlight more than ever before. The country's journey from agricultural economy to dynamic super-power over the last 20 years is well-known. Despite significant spending on infrastructure, on a macro-economic level the Olympics have had only a limited impact on the Chinese economy. The building of new facilities has been stimulatory but has had only a marginal effect on an economy, which has been growing very strongly anyway. Therefore in a purely economic sense the Olympics should be viewed as a minor positive f...