Factions and Finance in China: Elite Conflict and Inflation
Author(s): Victor C. Shih (Author)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication Date: 28 May 2009
Edition: Illustrated
Language: English
Print length: 268 pages
ISBN-10: 0521106478
ISBN-13: 9780521106474
Book Description
The contemporary Chinese financial system encapsulates two possible futures for China’s economy. On the one hand, extremely rapid financial deepening accompanied by relatively stable prices are both manifestations of a vigorous growth trajectory that will one day make China the world’s largest economy. On the other hand, the colossal store of non-performing loans in the banking sector augurs a troubling future. Factions and Finance in China inquires how elite factional politics has given rise to both of these outcomes since the reform in 1978. The competition between generalists in the Chinese Communist Party and politically engaged technocrats over monetary policies has time and time again prevented inflation from spinning out of control. Shih shows that elite politics has exerted a profound impact on monetary policies and banking institutions in contemporary China.
Editorial Reviews
Review
‘Victor Shih has produced a deep and rich analysis that links the complexity of Chinese elite politics to the monetary policies that have defined China’s economic reforms. … Factions and Finance in China is an excellent addition to this literature, representing deep and careful research about Chinese politics and economics. It will be essential reading for students of Chinese politics as well as those interested in the complex relationship between political and economic reform in the world’s largest nation. … Shih’s study is remarkable in its empirical link between factional politics and monetary policy … he does a nice job of extending his analysis to speculation about the future of China’s authoritarian regime. The book is thus not only an impressive history of the relationship between China’s political system and monetary policy but it is also a roadmap for predicting the future.’ China Quarterly
‘… Shih’s study is a welcome addition to an important but under-explored topic. Its quantitative treatment of biographical information is innovative and commendable. For these reasons, it deserves to be widely read by those interested in China’s political economy and élite politics.’ The China Journal
Book Description
Shih develops a framework with which to analyze the impact of elite politics on both monetary and banking policies.
About the Author
Victor C. Shih is a political economist specializing in China at Northwestern University. Born in Hong Kong, Professor Shih immigrated to the United States at the age of 12. He attended the George Washington University on a University Presidential Fellowship and graduated summa cum laude in East Asian Studies with a minor in Economics. He went on to complete his M.A. and Ph.D. in Government at Harvard University. He is the author of numerous articles appearing in academic and business journals, including The China Quarterly and The Far Eastern Economic Review, and advises the private sector on the banking industry in China. His current research concerns the political economy of fiscal transfers in China and Chinese policies toward ethnic minorities.
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