Rent Seeking in China

Edited by Tak-Wing Ngo and Yongping Wu

Rent seeking is a common phenomenon in developing countries. It is no exception in China where rent seeking has become an almost institutionalized form of practices during the ongoing market reform. So far rent seeking in China has been explained in terms of a number of factors: as a product of Chinese culture which emphasizes personal relationships, nepotism, and networking; as the remnants of the old command economy; or as the outcome of local protectionism.

Despite the prevalence of rent-seeking practices in present-day China, no systematic study of the phenomenon across different regions and economic sectors has yet been undertaken and as such what accounts for the occurrence of the phenomenon, what range of activities are related to rent-seeking practices and, more importantly, how rent seeking shapes political and economic development are barely understood. Rent Seeking in China seeks to address these questions using case studies from across economic sectors. It analyzes the multiple facets of rent production from the creation, allocation, to the pursuit of economic rents, and the wide range of politico-economic processes inherent in rent operation in China. The book will be invaluable reading for students and researchers of Chinese politics, comparative politics, development studies, economic management, and business history.

Rent Seeking in China, edited by Tak-Wing Ngo and Yongping Wu, London and New York: Routledge, 2009. xvi + 310 pp. ISBN: 978-0-415-46770-4