Prosper or perish : credit and fiscal systems in rural China / Lynette Ong.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ong, Lynette H.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rural credit--China.

Rural credit.

Rural development--China.

Rural development.

Banks and banking, Cooperative--China.

Banks and banking, Cooperative.

Local finance--China.

Local finance.

Central-local government relations--China.

Central-local government relations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations (black and white), map (black and white)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The official banking institutions for rural China are Rural Credit Cooperatives (RCCs). Although these co-ops are mandated to support agricultural development among farm households, since 1980 half of RCC loans have gone to small and medium-sized industrial enterprises located in, and managed by, townships and villages. These township and village enterprises have experienced highly uneven levels of success, and by the end of the 1990's, half of all RCC loans were in or close to default, forcing China's central bank to bail out RCCs. In Prosper or Perish, Lynette H. Ong examines the bias in RCC lending patterns, focusing on why the mobilization of rural savings has contributed to successful industrial development in some locales but not in others. Interweaving insightful and theoretically informed discussions of rural credit, development, governance, and bank bailouts, Ong identifies various sources for China's uneven development. In the highly decentralized fiscal environment of the People's Republic, successful industrialization has significant implications for rural governance. Local governments depend on revenue from industrial output to provide public goods and services; unsuccessful enterprises starve local governments of revenue and result in radical cutbacks in services. High peasant burdens, land takings without adequate compensation by local governments, and other poor governance practices tend to be associated with unsuccessful industrialization. In light of the recent liberalization of the rural credit sector in China, Prosper or Perish makes a significant contribution to debates within political science, economic development, and international banking.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

List of Abbreviations

Acknowledgments

Part I. Overview and Research Questions

1. Local Governments, Rural Credit, and Regional Development in China

Appendix: Case Study Indicators, Household Survey, and Sources

2. The Rural Financial System and Rural Development in China

Part II. The Design of China's Economic and Political Institutions

3. The Design of China's Rural Credit Institutions

4. The Implications of Cadre Evaluation and Fiscal System for Local-Government Behavior

Appendix: Township Cadre Evaluation Criteria in Wenling County, Zhejiang Province

Part III. Case Studies: Blind Men and the Elephant

5. Diverging Pathways to Prosperity: Privately Led vs. Local Government-Led Industrialization

6. The Local Government-Led Path to Rural Decay

Appendix: Revenue and Expenditures of the Perished Townships

Conclusion

Appendix: List of Non-Survey Field Interviews, 2003-6

Notes

Glossary of Chinese Terms

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780801465512

0801465516

9780801465956

0801465958

OCLC:

809834617