《Federalism》.pdfVIP

Trustees of Princeton University Cambridge University Press /stable. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms Conditions of Use, available at . /page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@. . Cambridge University Press and Trustees of Princeton University are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to World Politics. This content downloaded from 8 on Sun, 6 Oct 2013 03:35:14 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions FEDERALISM, CHINESE STYLE The Political Basis for Economic Success in China By GABRIELLA MONTINOLA, YINGYI QIAN, and BARRY R. WEINGAST* I. INTRODUCTION H E remarkable success of Chinas economic reforms—fostering Teconomic growth averaging 9 percent per year over the past fifteen years—seems to defy conventional wisdom . Consider the following : —Economic reform appears to have been successfully pursued without any political reform. —The central government seems to retain considerable political discretion, including the ability to reverse suddenly the reform process or to impose onerous exactions on successful enterprises. —Finally, there have been few attempts to provide the central feature of pri- vate markets, a system of secure private-property rights. Nor has an attempt been made to develop a commercial law (for example,