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Illiberal Law and Development

Property Rights and Conflict Over Land in China
Brief Description
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... Read More
Format: Hardback
$34900

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This book explains how China achieved transformative economic development without secure property rights and regime durability despite conflict. The state uses law both to reassign land rights from lower-value to higher-value uses and to manage the ensuing conflict. For advanced undergraduates and graduate students across social-science disciplines

Explains how China achieved transformative economic development without secure property rights and regime durability despite conflict.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

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-theorised 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.

Series: Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics

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  • 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...
    Hardback
    $34900
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781316512098

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 09 April 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Cambridge University Press

Illustration: Worked examples or Exercises

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Weight: 485g

Pages: 255

About the Author

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.

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