IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/widerw/295332.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Emergence of Unorthodox Ownership and Governance Structures in East Asia

Author

Listed:
  • Laixiang, Sun

Abstract

This paper examines the nature of the unorthodox ownership and governance structures that are emerging among firms and the way these structures are supporting the remarkable economic growth in the transition economies of East Asia, as represented in particular by China and Vietnam. These economies are embarked on a distinctive process of property rights reform that resists widespread privatization in favour of evolutionary transformation. From the perspective that organizational innovation is an adaptive recombination and ownership is a bundle of rights, this paper focuses on an evaluation of the extent and consistency of property rights reform in the state-owned enterprise sector of these economies. It reveals the features of the ownership and governance structures of Chinese township-village-enterprises and their consequences for liability and incentives and justifies the fact that private entrepreneurs are typically willing to include community authority as an ambiguous owner or shelter within the embrace of state-owned enterprises. The paper also explores the conditions which have motivated the reform, the impact of property rights structure and reform on enterprise performance, and the relationship between adaptability and accountability.

Suggested Citation

  • Laixiang, Sun, "undated". "Emergence of Unorthodox Ownership and Governance Structures in East Asia," WIDER Working Papers 295332, United Nations University, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:widerw:295332
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.295332
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/295332/files/RFA38.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.295332?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dollar David, 1994. "Macroeconomic Management and the Transition to the Market in Vietnam," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 357-375, June.
    2. Martin L. Weitzman & Chenggang Xu, 1997. "Chinese Township-Village Enterprises as Vaguely Defined Cooperatives," International Economic Association Series, in: John E. Roemer (ed.), Property Relations, Incentives and Welfare, chapter 12, pages 326-355, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Grossman, Sanford J & Hart, Oliver D, 1986. "The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A Theory of Vertical and Lateral Integration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(4), pages 691-719, August.
    4. Xiaolin Pei, 1996. "Township‐village enterprises, local governments and rural communities: the Chinese village as a firm during economic transition1," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 4(1), pages 43-66, May.
    5. Charles F. Sabel & David Stark, 1982. "Planning, Politics, and Shop-Floor Power: Hidden Forms of Bargaining in Soviet-Imposed State-Socialist Societies," Politics & Society, , vol. 11(4), pages 439-475, December.
    6. Mr. Krishna Srinivasan & Erich Spitäller & Mr. M. Braulke & Mr. Christian B. Mulder & Mr. Hisanobu Shishido & Mr. Kenneth M. Miranda & Mr. John R Dodsworth & Keon Lee, 1996. "Vietnam: Transition to a Market Economy," IMF Occasional Papers 1996/001, International Monetary Fund.
    7. Josef C. Brada, 1996. "Privatization Is Transition--Or Is It?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 67-86, Spring.
    8. Zou, Liang & Sun, Laixiang, 1996. "Interest Rate Policy and Incentives of State-Owned Enterprises in the Transitional China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 292-318, December.
    9. Woo Wing Thye & Hai Wen & Jin Yibiao & Fan Gang, 1994. "How Successful Has Chinese Enterprise Reform Been? Pitfalls in Opposite Biases and Focus," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 410-437, June.
    10. Rana, Pradumna B., 1995. "Reform strategies in transitional economies: Lessons from Asia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(7), pages 1157-1169, July.
    11. Theodore Groves & Yongmiao Hong & John McMillan & Barry Naughton, 1994. "Autonomy and Incentives in Chinese State Enterprises," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(1), pages 183-209.
    12. Hart, Oliver, 1995. "Firms, Contracts, and Financial Structure," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198288817, Decembrie.
    13. Li, David D., 1996. "A Theory of Ambiguous Property Rights in Transition Economies: The Case of the Chinese Non-State Sector," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 1-19, August.
    14. Chang Chun & Wang Yijiang, 1994. "The Nature of the Township-Village Enterprise," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 434-452, December.
    15. David D. Li, 1996. "A Theory of Ambiguous Property Rights in Transition Economies: The Case of the Chinese Non-State Sector," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 8, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    16. Mr. Ichiro Otani & Mr. Chi D Pham, 1996. "The Lao People's Democratic Republic: Systemic Transformation and Adjustment," IMF Occasional Papers 1996/003, International Monetary Fund.
    17. Zou, Liang, 1992. "Ownership structure and efficiency: An incentive mechanism approach," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 399-431, September.
    18. Gary H. Jefferson & Thomas G. Rawski, 1994. "Enterprise Reform in Chinese Industry," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(2), pages 47-70, Spring.
    19. Hart, Oliver D, 1988. "Incomplete Contracts and the Theory of the Firm," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(1), pages 119-139, Spring.
    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. Chang, Chun & McCall, Brian P. & Wang, Yijiang, 2003. "Incentive contracting versus ownership reforms: evidence from China's township and village enterprises," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 414-428, September.
    2. Jeffrey D. Sachs & Wing Thye Woo, "undated". "Understanding China'S Economic Performance," Department of Economics 97-04, California Davis - Department of Economics.
    3. Yingyi Qian, 1999. "The Institutional Foundations of China's Market Transition," Working Papers 99011, Stanford University, Department of Economics.
    4. Xu, Chenggang & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2009. "The evolution of Chinese entrepreneurial firms: Township-village enterprises revisited," IFPRI discussion papers 854, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Ito, Junichi, 2006. "Economic and institutional reform packages and their impact on productivity: A case study of Chinese township and village enterprises," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 167-190, March.
    6. Jones, Derek C., "undated". "The Determinants of Economic Performance in Transitional Economies," WIDER Working Papers 295333, United Nations University, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Tian, Guoqiang, 2000. "Property Rights and the Nature of Chinese Collective Enterprises," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 247-268, June.
    8. Zou, Liang & Sun, Laixiang, 2000. "Liability Sharing as a Mechanism to Improve Firms' Investment and Liquidation Decisions," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 739-761, December.
    9. Gregory C. Chow, 2003. "Challenges of China;s Economic System for Economic Theory," Microeconomics 0306002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Zhu, Tian, 1998. "A theory of contract and ownership choice in public enterprises under reformed socialism: The case of China's TVEs," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 59-71.
    11. Lu, Jiangyong & Tao, Zhigang & Yang, Zhi, 2010. "The costs and benefits of government control: Evidence from China's collectively-owned enterprises," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 282-292, June.
    12. Smith, Stephen C., 1995. "Employee participation in China's TVEs," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 157-167.
    13. Sean M. Dougherty & Robert H. McGuckin, 2001. "The Effect of Ownership Structure and Jurisdictional Governance on Productivity in Chinese Enterprises," Economics Program Working Papers 02-01, The Conference Board, Economics Program, revised Jan 2002.
    14. Marcus Conlé, 2011. "Tracing the Process of Property Rights Specification in China: The Case of New Technology Enterprises," Chapters, in: Werner Pascha & Cornelia Storz & Markus Taube (ed.), Institutional Variety in East Asia, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Justin Yifu Lin, 2007. "Development and Transition : Idea, Strategy, and Viability," Development Economics Working Papers 22709, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    16. Qian, Yingyi, 2002. "How Reform Worked in China," CEPR Discussion Papers 3447, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Wang, Yijiang & Chang, Chun, 1998. "Economic transition under a semifederalist government: The experience of China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23.
    18. Yingyi Qian, 2002. "How Reform Worked in China," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 473, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    19. Chenggang Xu, 2011. "The Fundamental Institutions of China's Reforms and Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1076-1151, December.
    20. Xu, Cheng-Gang & Guo, Di & Jiang, Kun & Yang, Xiyi, 2017. "Clustering, Growth, and Inequality in China," CEPR Discussion Papers 12543, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    International Development;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:ags:widerw:295332. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/widerfi.html .

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

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.