A talk by Thomas G. Rawski, Professor of Economics and History, University of Pittsburgh. Historians ranging from U-M's Albert Feuerwerker to Kenneth Pomeranz have labored to explain China's limited economic success. Recent developments require a shift of perspective. While the spread of education after 1949 is part of the story, what accounts for the limited economic progress under China's 19th-century regime of free trade, domestic market economy, substantial influx of technology, and modest reform efforts?