Providing an account of the role of informal institutions in Chinese rural development, this book, based on a decade of fieldwork of village life in the Chinese countryside, puts forth a distinctive argument on a very important topic in Chinese economic and social affairs. Focusing in particular on three major informal institutions: village trust and Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs), guanxi community and Integrating Village with Company (IVWC) governance, it argues that informal institutions, traditions and customs are all critical factors for facilitating modernization and social and economic development, promoting the integration of trust, reciprocity, responsibility and obligation into economic and social exchange processes and considerably lowering risks and transactions costs. This detailed account is an invaluable resource for postgraduates and researching studying and working in this area. Winner of the 2008 Zhang Peigang Development Economics Award.
Author(s): Biliang Hu
Edition: 1
Year: 2007
Language: English
Pages: 384
Book Cover......Page 1
Title......Page 6
Copyright......Page 7
Dedication......Page 8
Contents......Page 10
Illustrations......Page 12
Foreword......Page 15
Foreword......Page 21
Foreword......Page 24
Preface......Page 27
Acknowledgements......Page 28
Abbreviations......Page 30
1 Introduction: Background to the research......Page 32
2 Village trust, guanxi community and IVWC governance: An interdisciplinary approach to informal institutional analysis in rural China......Page 40
3 Indigenous conceptions of networks......Page 72
4 Selection of research areas......Page 98
5 Village trust and bidding ROSCAs......Page 131
6 Guanxi community and people’s mobility......Page 160
7 Guanxi community and TVE development in China......Page 206
8 The institution of ‘integrating village with company’ (IVWC) and rural community development......Page 247
9 Conclusion: Integration of tradition and modernity – towards understanding institutional arrangements in China’s modernization......Page 291
Glossary of Chinese terms......Page 317
Notes......Page 327
Bibliography......Page 350
Index......Page 372