Details

Subject(s)

• Patronage, Political—China—History—20th century [Browse]
• Patronage, Political—China—History—21st century [Browse]
• Economic development—Political aspects—China—History—20th century [Browse]
• Economic development—Political aspects—China—History—21st century [Browse]
• China—Officials and employees [Browse]
• China—Politics and government—1976-2002 [Browse]
• China—Politics and government—2002- [Browse]

Author

Tao, Ran (Professor of economics) [Browse]

Series

Cambridge elements. Elements in Chinese economy and governance [More in this series]

Summary note

This study interrogates the theoretical and empirical validities of two dominant theories about Chinese state in the post-Mao period. The authors argue that the meritocratic view has under-theorized the innate contradiction between officials' personal competence and political loyalty. In order to survive political struggles, political leaders need to rely on patronage networks to recruit followers and solidify trust, often at the expense of official competence. The popular view also misrepresents China's cadre assessment system in several important ways. The authors supplement this theoretical and anecdotal evidence with a systematic study of provincial level officials between 1978 and 2020. Contrary to the meritocratic view, leaders' economic performance does not increase their promotion chances. Work ties with central leaders, on the other hand, have provided provincial officials with advantage in promotion. This study contributes to general theories of autocratic state and inform the debate about autocratic growth in the political economy literature.

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN

• 9781009507974 ((hbk.))
• 1009507974 ((hbk.))
• 9781009508001 ((pbk.))
• 1009508008 ((pbk.))

OCLC

1461831683

Statement on responsible collection description

Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage. Read more...