IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/etrans/v7y1999i1p103-131.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From federalism, Chinese style to privatization, Chinese style

Author

Listed:
  • Yuanzheng Cao
  • Yingyi Qian
  • Barry R. Weingast

Abstract

In 1995, China began a profound reform of its state‐owned enterprises. We first describe and characterize this progress in two areas: privatization of small state‐owned enterprises at the county level and mass lay‐offs of excess state workers at the city level. Local governments have initiated these reforms, which are proceeding in economically and politically sensible ways. We then argue that privatization, Chinese style, rests on an adequate economic and political foundation ‐ federalism, Chinese style. We suggest a range of incentives that propel local governments toward state‐owned enterprise reform, including their harder budget constraints and increased competition from the non‐state sector. In this sense, federalism, Chinese style, has induced privatization, Chinese style. JEL classification: H7, L30, P3.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuanzheng Cao & Yingyi Qian & Barry R. Weingast, 1999. "From federalism, Chinese style to privatization, Chinese style," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 7(1), pages 103-131, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:etrans:v:7:y:1999:i:1:p:103-131
    DOI: 10.1111/1468-0351.00006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0351.00006
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/1468-0351.00006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yingyi Qian & Barry R. Weingast, 1996. "China's transition to markets: market-preserving federalism, chinese style," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(2), pages 149-185.
    2. Yingyi Qian, 1996. "Enterprise reform in China: agency problems and political control," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 4(2), pages 427-447, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hu, Helen Wei & Cui, Lin, 2014. "Outward foreign direct investment of publicly listed firms from China: A corporate governance perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 750-760.
    2. Ding, Mingfa, 2014. "Political Connections and Stock Liquidity: Political Network, Hierarchy and Intervention," Knut Wicksell Working Paper Series 2014/7, Lund University, Knut Wicksell Centre for Financial Studies.
    3. Kočenda, Evžen & Iwasaki, Ichiro, 2020. "Bank survival in Central and Eastern Europe," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 860-878.
    4. Qing He & Dongxu Li & Liping Lu & Terence Tai Leung Chong, 2019. "Institutional Ownership and Private Equity Placements: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 19(2), pages 315-346, June.
    5. Nirvikar Singh, 2007. "The dynamics of reform of India’s federal system," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 8(01), pages 22-31, April.
    6. Mahmut Yaşar & Catherine Paul, 2012. "Firm performance and knowledge spillovers from academic, industrial and foreign linkages: the case of China," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 237-253, December.
    7. Zhu, Z. & Krug, B., 2005. "Is China a Leviathan?," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2005-087-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    8. Rekha Rao-Nicholson & Catherine Cai, 2020. "The effects of ownership identity on corporate diversification strategy of Chinese companies in foreign markets," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 91-126, March.
    9. Das Gupta, Monica & Grandvoinnet, Helene & Romani, Mattia, 2000. "State-community synergies in development : laying the basis for collective action," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2439, The World Bank.
    10. Sangeetha Gunasekar & Jayati Sarkar, 2014. "Does autonomy matter in state owned enterprises? Evidence from performance contracts in India," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2014-034, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    11. Sebastián Claro, 2005. "How Uncompetitive is the State-Owned Industrial Sector in China," Documentos de Trabajo 305, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    12. Evžen Kočenda & Jan Hanousek, 2012. "State ownership and control in the Czech Republic," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 157-191, August.
    13. Jenni Pääkkönen, 2012. "Are there industrial and agricultural convergence clubs in China?," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, June.
    14. Ahmad, Ehtisham, 2011. "Should China revisit the 1994 fiscal reforms?," Discussion Papers 115922, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    15. Zheng Song, 2012. "Comment on "The Governance of China's Finance"," NBER Chapters, in: Capitalizing China, pages 60-62, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Liu, Sun, 2015. "Corporate governance and forward-looking disclosure: Evidence from China," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 16-30.
    17. Sheng, Jichuan & Webber, Michael, 2018. "Using incentives to coordinate responses to a system of payments for watershed services: The middle route of South–North Water Transfer Project, China," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 32(PA), pages 1-8.
    18. Mahmoud Agha & Baban Eulaiwi, 2020. "The alignment effects of CEO stock incentives in the presence of government ownership: International evidence from Gulf Cooperation Council countries," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 45(2), pages 195-222, May.
    19. Kun Wang, 2009. "From State to State: Quasi‐privatization and Firm Performance," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 17(5), pages 52-68, September.
    20. Xiaozu Wang & Lixin Colin Xu & Tian Zhu, 2004. "State‐owned enterprises going public The case of China," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 12(3), pages 467-487, September.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H3 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents
    • P2 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies
    • P5 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:etrans:v:7:y:1999:i:1:p:103-131. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: . General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ebrdduk.html .

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ebrdduk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.