Illiberal Law and Development

In Illiberal Law and Development, Susan H. Whiting advances institutional economic theory with original survey and fieldwork data, addressing two puzzles in Chinese political economy: how economic development has occurred despite insecure property rights and weak rule of law; and how the Chinese state has maintained political control amid unrest. Whiting answers these questions by focusing on the role of illiberal law in reassigning property rights and redirecting grievances. The book reveals that, in the context of technological change, a legal system that facilitates reassignment of land rights to higher-value uses plays an important and under-theorized role in promoting economic development. This system simultaneously represses conflict and asserts legitimacy. Comparing China to post-Glorious Revolution England and contemporary India, Whiting presents an exciting new argument that brings the Chinese case more directly into debates in comparative politics about the role of the state in specifying property rights and maintaining authoritarian rule.

Author Biography

Susan H. Whiting is Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington. Having studied and conducted extensive field and survey research in China since 1985, she is the author of Power and Wealth in Rural China (2001, Chinese translation 2009) plus articles and chapters, co-authored with political scientists, economists, legal scholars, anthropologists, and historians to advance institutional economic theory and explain development.