How China Became Capitalist

by Coase, Ronald; Wang, Ning

• ISBN13: 9781137019363
• ISBN10: 1137019360
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-04-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

How China Became Capitalist details the extraordinary, and often accidental, journey that China has taken over the past thirty years in transforming itself from a closed agrarian socialist economy to an indomitable force in the international arena. The authors revitalize the debate around the development of the Chinese system through the use of primary sources. They persuasively argue that the reforms implemented by the Chinese leaders did not represent a concerted attempt to create a capitalist economy, but that the ideas from the West eventually culminated in a fundamental change to their socialist model, forming an accidental path to capitalism. Coase and Wang argue that the pragmatic approach of "seeking truth from fact" is in fact much more in line with Chinese culture. How China Became Capitalist challenges the received wisdom about the future of the Chinese economy, arguing that while China has enormous potential for growth, this could be hampered by the leaders' propensity for control, both in terms of economics and their monopoly of ideas and power.

Author Biography

RONALD COASE is a Nobel Laureate in Economics. His work has had a profound impact on economics; his work clarified the theory of the firm and gave rise to the field of Law and Economics. The Coase theorem is widely studied in economics. Professor Coase is currently Clifton R. Musser Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Chicago Law School, he is also a research advisor at the Ronald Coase Institute.

NING WANG is Assistant Professor at the School of Politics and Global Studies, Arizona State University.

Table of Contents

"This is a major contribution to the whole literature on economic change as well as on China. Nowhere in all of the literature on economic change and development that I know is there such a detailed study of the fumbling efforts of a society to evolve and particularly one that had as long and as far to go as China did." – Douglass C. North, 1993 Nobel laureate in Economics

"Ronald Coase, now 100 years plus, and Ning Wang have written a compelling and exhaustive commentary about China's fitful transition from Socialism under Mao to today's distinctive capitalist economy. No student of China or socialism can afford to miss this volume." - Richard Epstein, University of Chicago Law School

"This book is one of the greatest works in economics and in studies of China, not only for today, but for the future." – Chenggang Xu, University of Hong Kong

"Coase finds a nation whose philosophy and policy have reflected the same simple principle - 'seeking truth from facts' - that has inspired his own path-breaking analyses of firms, markets and law. A fascinating and exceptionally thought-provoking account of how China, repeatedly seeking more efficient socialism, found itself turning capitalist." - Stephen Littlechild, Emeritus Professor, University of Birmingham, and Fellow, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge