FEER, June 2008

Table of Contents Agriculture: More Pain Ahead for China’s Food Prices Huang Jikun, Qiu Huanguan and Scott Rozelle, agricultural economists, show that expensive oil is driving China’s high food prices, and there is no relief in sight. Indonesia: Indonesia’s Oil Subsidy Opportunity Tim Bulman, Wolfgang Fengler and Mohamad Ikhsan, economists based in Indonesia, explain why Jakarta is missing an important chance to use its windfall from oil and gas revenue for the greater public good. Inequality: The Scorned and the Forlorn Dorothy Solinger, looks at how Beijing seems to concentrate its efforts to build its “harmonious society” in part through a new alliance with the upper strata of the population, and at the same time using its growing coffers to placate the poor. Inequality: All Inequality Is Not Equal Arthur Brooks, of Syracuse University and Charles Wolf, Jr challenge the widely held belief that less income inequality in a society is better than more. China: Earthquake Rocks China’s Civil Society Amy Gadsden, a former country director in China for the International Republican Institute, considers how Chinese civil society could be transformed by the Sichuan quake. [available on eSS] China: China’s Reforms Buried Under Rubble Willy Lam says the Sichuan earthquake and other extraordinary events in China this year have put economic and political reform on ice. Japan: Easing Japan’s Alliance Fears Sheila Smith analyzes why a vulnerable Japan is increasingly concerned about its security ties with the United States. Interview: The Conscience of a Forgetful Nation Salil Tripathi interviews Chinese dissident Ma Jian, author of Beijing Coma, and discovers a man determined to give voice to the Tiananmen protesters forgotten by his compatriots. And other articles