The Making of the State Enterprise System in Modern China: The Dynamics of Institutional Change

The Making of the State Enterprise System in Modern China: The Dynamics of Institutional Change. By Morris L. Bian. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005. xi + 331 pp. Index, notes, appendix, maps, photographs. Cloth, $45.00. ISBN: 0-674-01717-X.

Reviewed by Man Bun Kwan

To champions of private enterprise, a state-run system has a dubious reputation as an inefficient, if not a wasteful, intrusion into the economy. Crossing such a system with a communist regime, in their view, inevitably results in the government's becoming an instrument of political tyranny. However, China, which exemplifies just such a blend of economics and politics, has a long tradition of state …