CHINA TIMES (Taiwan)
SHENZHEN – The secret to economic growth? Unmarried women left free to shop, according to one prominent Chinese economist.
Jin Yanshi, who has since become the target of outrage and contempt from colleagues and others, recently laid out his theory that “cities where there are more leftover and divorced women should enjoy a better economy.” Jin, who has served as chief economist at Sinolink Securities in Shanghai, also asserts that “men without any power of consumption should be run out of the city”, the China Times reported.
Single women, indelicately referred to as leftover women in China, and divorced women contribute to a more vigorous economy, Jin argues, because “women have two natures: they love money and they love to spend it. Women are innate consuming animals.”
Jin based his reasoning on the fact that: “Women express their desire in competition. This competition therefore promotes a city’s consumption.” He then deduced the conclusion that “Men who do not have any power of consumption won’t be able to find wives and won’t contribute to the city’s economy, and thus should be thrown out of town.”
The economist’s provocative argument immediately triggered a wave of online criticism in China. One attacked his argument saying, “Jin Yanshi has contempt for women’s IQ and incites women to compete with each other. He is misleading them to sacrifice their future happiness to boost consumption.”
Ma Guangyuan, another famous Chinese economist, simply judged Mr. Jin’s theory to be “a joke.”
