An American Nobel Laureate in Economics has lashed out at the “public servant frenzy” prevalent among young people in China, calling it a waste of talent.
Edmund Phelps, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, said that government posts are not designed for young people and that they do not test young people’s capabilities and are a waste of their education, commenting on the growing numbers of young people in China applying to become civil servants.
“We hope to see more bright young men telling their mothers, ‘Mom, I am heading west, south and north to run a company,’” The Beijing News quoted him as saying, as the economist encouraged young people to start businesses away from China’s more prosperous eastern region.
The 80-year-old made the remarks on the second day of the Nobel Laureates Beijing Forum 2013 on Wednesday. The conference focuses on economic and environmental sustainable development in China. Four Nobel Prize winners including Phelps and four of the world’s top scientists attended the convention.
Phelps’s remarks reflect the fact that increasing numbers of fresh-graduates in China are striving to pursue civil service careers.
While government posts in general do not offer competitive salaries, they provide job security, good benefits and limited responsibility, making them an attractive option in an increasingly competitive job market.