Description
Book SynopsisPresents a sociological examination of what is perhaps the main engine of economic reform in China, the large industrial firm. This book provides an account of how the firms have been radically transformed since the mid-1980s. It gives us the most complete picture yet of Chinese economic reform at the crucial level of the industrial firm.
Trade Review"[Guthrie] provides an admirably clear and detailed exposition of who runs what in reformera industry in China, complete with diagrams... This book is essential reading for anyone interested in China's economic reforms and in transition economies more generally, and it will stand comparison with anything else in the field."--Jackie Sheehan, The Times Higher Education Supplement "A splendid book... Dragon in a Three-Piece Suit provides a comprehensive examination of an important and timely phenomenon. The question is important. The data are not only unique, they are also remarkably comprehensive... [It is] likely to stimulate both discussion and additional research."--Lisa A. Keister, Contemporary Sociology
Table of ContentsList of Figures vii List of Tables ix Preface and Acknowledgments xi 1. Firm Practices in China's Transforming Economy: Efficiency or Mimicry? 3 2. Path Dependence in China's Economic Transition 24 3. Formal Rational Bureaucracies in Chinese Firms: Causes and Implications 42 4. Changing Labor Relations in the Period of Market Reform 75 5. The Politics of Price Setting in China's Transition Economy 101 6. Economic Strategies in the Face of Market Reforms 121 7. Institutional Pressure, Rational Choice, and Contractual Relations: Chinese-Foreign Negotiations in the Economic Transition 150 8. The Declining Significance of Connections in China's Economic Transition 175 9. Conclusions and Implications 198 Appendixes 1. Methodology and Sampling 219 2. Interviews and Informants 228 3. Complete Interview Schedule 235 4. Sample Characteristics and Variables 240 Notes 249 References 281 Index 299
