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Why has China grown so fast for so long despite vast corruption? In China's Gilded Age, Yuen Yuen Ang argues that not all types of corruption hurt growth, nor do they cause the same kind of harm. Ang unbundles corruption into four varieties: petty theft, grand theft, speed money, and access money. While the first three types impede growth, access money - elite exchanges of power and profit - cuts both ways: it stimulates investment and growth but produces serious risks for the economy and political system. Since market opening, corruption in China has evolved toward access money. Using a range of data sources, the author explains the evolution of Chinese corruption, how it differs from the West and other developing countries, and how Xi's anti-corruption campaign could affect growth and governance. In this formidable yet accessible book, Ang challenges one-dimensional measures of corruption. By unbundling the problem and adopting a comparative-historical lens, she reveals that the rise of capitalism was not accompanied by the eradication of corruption, but rather by its evolution from thuggery and theft to access money. In doing so, she changes the way we think about corruption and capitalism, not only in China but around the world.
Provides the most data-rich study of Chinese corruption to date
Explains the enduring puzzle of economic boom and vast corruption in China by highlighting the differential effects of different types of corruption
Proposes a typology that unbundles corruption into four distinct varieties, paired with a new Unbundled Corruption Index (UCI) that covers fifteen countries, including China
Through a comparative-historical lens, it shows that the rise of capitalism was not accompanied by the eradication of corruption, but rather by its evolution from thuggery and theft to access money
1. Introduction. China's gilded age
2. Unbundling corruption across countries
3. Unbundling corruption over time
4. Profit-sharing, Chinese style
5. Corrupt and competent
6. All the king's men
7. Rethinking nine big questions
Appendix
References
Index.
Description
Why has China grown so fast for so long despite vast corruption? In China's Gilded Age, Yuen Yuen Ang argues that not all types of corruption hurt growth, nor do they cause the same kind of harm. Ang unbundles corruption into four varieties: petty theft, grand theft, speed money, and access money. While the first three types impede growth, access money - elite exchanges of power and profit - cuts both ways: it stimulates investment and growth but produces serious risks for the economy and political system. Since market opening, corruption in China has evolved toward access money. Using a range of data sources, the author explains the evolution of Chinese corruption, how it differs from the West and other developing countries, and how Xi's anti-corruption campaign could affect growth and governance. In this formidable yet accessible book, Ang challenges one-dimensional measures of corruption. By unbundling the problem and adopting a comparative-historical lens, she reveals that the rise of capitalism was not accompanied by the eradication of corruption, but rather by its evolution from thuggery and theft to access money. In doing so, she changes the way we think about corruption and capitalism, not only in China but around the world.
Provides the most data-rich study of Chinese corruption to date
Explains the enduring puzzle of economic boom and vast corruption in China by highlighting the differential effects of different types of corruption
Proposes a typology that unbundles corruption into four distinct varieties, paired with a new Unbundled Corruption Index (UCI) that covers fifteen countries, including China
Through a comparative-historical lens, it shows that the rise of capitalism was not accompanied by the eradication of corruption, but rather by its evolution from thuggery and theft to access money
