| Publication |
2007.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article explores the divergent patterns of farmland property rights
transformation in Suzhou and Dongguan, China, and investigates the relevant factors
influencing this divergence from an institutionalist perspective. We point out that a
local property rights regime based on the collective ownership system coupled with
developmental dynamics at village level has made the transformation of farmland
property rights in Dongguan different from that in Suzhou. We also discover some
emerging local institutions that may have been factors in the variation of farmland
property rights transformation between these two regions. Furthermore, we observe
that such spatial-institutional variation influences the welfare of local farmers to a
significant degree. Finally, this study suggests that in addition to the "economic
paradigm," scholars might pay more attention to political factors such as intra-Party
promotion/evaluation systems, the tensions between the evaluative indicators systems
maintained by the tiao (central/local sectoral command) and the kuai (territorial
jurisdictions), and the regulation as well as political governance of
government-village relations in order to further understand the dynamics and
contradictions of China's local development.
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