Austerity Chinese Style

September 15, 2014 in Daily Bulletin

The Chinese government has recently been on a crusade against public officials claiming extravagant expenses. This hasn’t worked out as well as the government would have liked writes The Economist:

  • As a result of the effort domestic airline carriers have seen a sharp fall in profits as politicians no longer fly in first class.
  • To get around this China Southern Airlines has relabeled its first class seats as business class without making any other changes.
  • This should make it more palatable to bean counters who will now see ‘business’ rather than ‘first’ next to flight ticket expenses.
  • Similarly hotels have requested to be downgraded from “five-star” status so that government officials continue to visit.

Read about the government’s efforts, its unintended consequences, and more over here.

Source: The Economist