The Beijing Consensus?
How China Has Changed Western Ideas of Law and Economic Development

A collection of essays exploring whether a distinctive Chinese model for law and economic development exists.

Weitseng Chen (Edited by)

9781316503034, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 December 2018

365 pages, 6 b/w illus.
23 x 15 x 2 cm, 0.52 kg

'In this book, a distinguished international group of law and development scholars decomposes the idea of a Beijing Consensus by examining in detail the evolution of a number of areas of law in China, including tax law, property law, corporate law, securities law, and anticorruption law, with a view to addressing three key questions: How distinctive is the development trajectory of China's legal system in these areas as compared to other legal systems? What accounts for China's deviation from conventional models in these areas? If there is a distinctive general Chinese Model of development, or law and development, is this model replicable in other developing countries? In many important respects, the contributions to this book importantly advance debates about alternative development paradigms beyond unhelpful clichés or overgeneralizations through much more pragmatic evaluations of the relationship between law and development in particular social and political contexts.' Michael Trebilcock, Toronto University

Is there a distinctive Chinese model for law and economic development? In The Beijing Consensus scholars turn their collective attention to answer this basic but seemingly under-explored question as China rises higher in its global standing. Advancing debates on alternative development programs, with a particular focus on social and political contexts, this book demonstrates that essentially, no model exists. Engaging in comparative studies, the contributors create a new set of benchmarks to evaluate the conventional wisdom that the Beijing Consensus challenges and that of the Beijing Consensus itself. Has China demonstrated that the best model is in fact no model at all? Overall, this title equips the reader with an understanding of the conclusions derived from China's experience in its legal and economic development in recent decades.

Introduction: debating the consensuses Weitseng Chen
Part I. Deconstructing the Beijing Consensus: 1. Dialogus de Beijing Michael W. Dowdle and Mariana Mota Prado
2. Imagining China: Brazil, labor and the limits of an anti-model Jedidiah Kroncke
3. The Beijing consensus and possible lessons from the 'Singapore Model'? Tan Cheng-Han
Part II. Examining the Beijing Consensus in Context: 4. The legal maladies of 'federalism, Chinese-style' Wei Cui
5. Lessons from Chinese growth: re-thinking the role of property rights in development Frank K. Upham
6. Size matters? Renminbi internationalization and the Beijing consensus Weitseng Chen
7. A Chinese model for tax reforms in developing countries? Ji Li
8. The Chinese model for securities law Yingmao Tang
Part III. Revisiting the Beijing Consensus: 9. Authoritarian justice in China: is there a 'Chinese Model'? Benjamin L. Liebman
10. China's striking anti-corruption adventure: a political journey towards the rule of law? Hualing Fu
11. Chinese corporate capitalism in comparative context Curtis J. Milhaupt.

Subject Areas: Law [L], Development economics & emerging economies [KCM], Economic growth [KCG]