Marketplace All-in-One China has an economic data problem. Is the U.S. next?
Aug 13, 2025
Jennifer Pak, Marketplace's China correspondent based in Shanghai, dives into the murky waters of China's economic data. She reveals the challenges of reporting amid unreliable statistics and discusses how the Chinese government may manipulate figures, especially concerning youth unemployment. The conversation shifts to the looming concern about U.S. economic data trustworthiness, with parallels drawn between the two nations. Will America face similar data crises as China? Pak's insights prompt a critical reassessment of how we view economic statistics.
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Stable GDP Masks Local Incentives
- China’s headline GDP figures are viewed skeptically because they repeatedly hit government targets each year.
- Local officials face incentives to produce stable growth numbers, which can distort the national picture.
Roads Rebuilt To Boost Numbers
- Jennifer Pak recounts a joke about officials repeatedly rebuilding curved roads to boost GDP.
- The story illustrates how wasteful projects can be counted as growth without adding real value.
Discontinued Statistics Break Comparisons
- China sometimes stops publishing specific statistics, like youth unemployment, then resumes with altered definitions.
- Those changes often lack historical revisions, preventing consistent trend comparisons.