Articles by Li Jingkui

How caviar became China’s most unexpected success story

China’s culinary tradition prized technique over luxury ingredients. Now, rising affluence and innovation are changing that — turning caviar and other premium foods into symbols of status and engines of growth. Economist Li Jingkui looks at how high-end ingredients can play a part in boosting the economy.

Li Jingkui

29 Apr 2026

Chinese economics professor: My two hometowns and their people [Eye on JiangZheHu series]

Within a country, people from different regions often have their own characteristics and quirks, and China is no exception. Economics professor Li Jingkui shares some observations about the defining traits of people in Zhejiang, a province he now calls home, versus that of his old friends in his hometown of Henan.

Li Jingkui

13 Jan 2025

Are Chinese gods more human? How divine beliefs shape our world

Looking at paintings and talking with his daughters prompts economics professor Li Jingkui to reflect on how humans are programmed to think of the gods as all-powerful and needing to be pleased, whether in the East or West. And this mindset in turn has influenced our perception of various aspects of life, leading to our economic and political systems.

Caixin Global, Li Jingkui

08 Nov 2024

Stemming population decline in Chinese first-tier cities

​Population figures are going down in China's major cities, not only in Beijing and Shanghai, but also in Shenzhen and Guangzhou. This trend is not only due to higher costs of living, but deeper concerns that prevent economies from finding a certain equilibrium after headwinds. Economist Li Jingkui explains.

Caixin Global, Li Jingkui

24 Jul 2023

Chinese economics professor: Immigrants do not take away your job

The belief that immigrants would ruin the employment market is unfounded, says economics professor Li Jingkui. With bold and ambitious entrepreneurial spirits, immigrants are more likely to be "job creators", rather than "job takers", while the resulting increase in demand for goods and services even supports economic growth.

Caixin Global, Li Jingkui

16 Sep 2022

Why China has too many graduates and not enough skilled workers

Despite a record number of graduates entering the job market this year, China is seeing a shortage of skilled tradesmen, especially for the manufacturing industry. Chinese economics professor Li Jingkui believes that the main reason for the talent demand gap is China's education system, which is driven by remnants of the backward ideology of the ancient feudal society.

Caixin Global, Li Jingkui

29 Apr 2022

Plight of China's new generation of young migrant workers highlights pitfalls of labour reforms

Over the past three decades, China has implemented and revised its labour regulations in an effort to progress its market economy. Despite the strengthening of labour protection, young migrant workers have fallen through the cracks. Chinese economics professor Li Jingkui believes that the labour reforms have led to the social phenomenon of "Sanhe legends" - youths who are caught in an employment cycle characterised by poor working conditions, low wages and a lack of stability.

Caixin Global, Li Jingkui

14 Apr 2022

Monogamy or polygamy: An economic choice?

One may be tempted to assume that monogamy is the ideal that humans aspire to, but this is not the case, says Chinese economics professor Li Jingkui. He explains why different marriage systems were devised to maximise economic benefits.

Caixin Global, Li Jingkui

18 Mar 2022

Why extended maternity leave will not encourage childbirth in China

Li Jingkui explains that having children is very much an economic decision with hard choices involved, particularly for women. Research has shown that women's chances of gaining employment after bearing their first child fall by 6.6%, and by another 9.3% after the second child. The government believes that an extended maternity leave policy will aid women and increase the nation's fertility rate, but the reality may be much to the contrary.

Caixin Global, Li Jingkui

25 Feb 2022

How being a good Samaritan can 'spoil the market'

While some businessmen have good intentions in offering goods and services at lower prices, they could also be "spoiling the market" and making it harder for others to make a living. Such actions may invite backlash, whether in village scuffles, or writ large, protests and anti-dumping measures between countries. China, the world's factory, has borne the brunt of such pushback. Industries in other countries are affected, as capital moves freely between borders but labour stays in place. Those who feel they are losing out may hold grudges and end up dealing a big blow to society.

Caixin Global, Li Jingkui

31 Dec 2021

'Leftover men' in the Chinese countryside and 'leftover women' in Chinese cities

Perhaps the theory of the survival of the fittest can help to explain the opposite gender imbalance in rural-urban China. Aspirant males and females head to cities in search of better prospects; the latter, with the added aim of better marriage prospects, invariably outnumber the men. Of the males that stay or return, there is the heavy bride price to pay to win the hand of a lady among the smaller pool of women left in the rural areas. This modern malaise is something no provincial policy can easily solve, says economist Li Jingkui.

Caixin Global, Li Jingkui

03 Dec 2021

Chinese economics professor: What to do when you have a stinky neighbour

A family stroll down a food alley has Chinese economist Li Jingkui teaching the Coase theorem while holding his breath and fleeing a luosifen stall and its pungent smells. If rights of stallholders are defined and transaction costs are low, then the optimal value of resources in society will be realised. That is, either the luosifen moves away under some compensation from his neighbour or it stays put and his neighbours cope with the negative externalities this presents.

Caixin Global, Li Jingkui

12 Nov 2021