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Chinese Township Village Enterprises as Vaguely Defined Cooperations
Martin L. Weitzman,Chenggang Xu +1 more
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In this article, the authors make the case that TVE's are not just some form of disguised capitalist institution; they are much better described as "vaguely defined cooperatives" - meaning an essentially communal organization extremely far removed from having well defined ownership structure.Abstract:
This paper concerns the paradoxes and dilemmas that the very successful "Chinese model" presents for transition theory. The "Chinese model" is centered on the development of township-village enterprises. The main purpose of this paper is to make the case that TVE's are not just some form of disguised capitalist institution; they are much better described as "vaguely defined cooperatives" - meaning an essentially communal organization extremely far removed from having well defined ownership structure. That a transition strategy based on vaguely defined cooperatives should be so successful presents a severe challenge for traditional property theory. We speculate that to address this challenge properly, traditional property rights should be extended by including a dimension corresponding to the degree of individualism/cooperation existing in a society. A model of the required extension is described. Implications and application are discussed.read more
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The Fundamental Institutions of China's Reforms and Development
TL;DR: The authors analyzes China's institution, a regionally decentralized authoritarian system where the central government has control over personnel, whereas subnational governments run the bulk of the economy; and they initiate, negotiate, implement, divert, and resist reforms, policies, rules, and laws.
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Understanding institutional change: Fast-moving and slow-moving institutions
TL;DR: In this paper, a classification of slow-moving and fast-moving institutions is proposed, and the potential results of their interaction are discussed. And the interaction between slow moving and fast moving institutions can shed light on institutional change (why, how, and when it occurs).
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Whither Reform? Ten Years of the Transition
TL;DR: The authors argue that the failures of the reforms in Russia and most of the former Soviet Union are not just due to sound policies being poorly implemented, but also due to a misunderstanding of the foundations of a market economy as well as a fundamental understanding of the basics of an institutional reform process.
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Kinship networks and entrepreneurs in China's transitional economy
TL;DR: In this paper, the economic payoff of kinship networks in the context of China's rural industrialization was analyzed and it was shown that kin solidarity and kin trust played an important role in protecting the property rights of private entrepreneurs and reducing transaction costs during early stages of market reform.
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Enterprise Reform in Chinese Industry
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the role of industry in China's economic reform process, emphasizing that industry is the largest sector of China's economy, accounting for 50 percent of total output and 80 percent of exports, and employing 102 million workers.
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