Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: Unpacking the Miracle of Private Investment: The Micro-foundations of Chinese Property Rights

在国家对私有财产权的保护薄弱、民主制度缺失的转型期中国，私营部门是如何蓬勃发展并成为经济增长的主要引擎的？与现有的以国家为中心的方法不同，中国的产权并不都是不安全的，该项目认为，中国私营经济的成功部分可以追溯到私营企业家为保护投资而促进私有产权的行动。通过对社交网络、商会和企业政治参与的研究，利用定性证据（来自半结构化访谈）和原始调查的统计分析，对这一理论进行了实证检验。四省八县约800名民营企业家调研（每个省两个县）进行，并对调查数据进行分析，以得出关于社交网络如何和有多少的广泛可推广的推论，商会和企业的政治参与促进中国的财产权，并有助于中国私营经济的增长。这个项目是一个跨学科的研究，桥梁政治科学、社会学和经济学，并且它同时使用定性和定量方法。特别是，这个项目有助于三个方面的文献。在中国政治研究领域，它增加了我们对商会和企业政治参与的了解，从而促进了我们对中国资本家如何促进其利益和影响政策制定的理解。它还产生了远远超出中国的见解，具体说明私人财产权在国家内部并不处于统一的安全水平，而是因情况而异，这种情况可能适用于其他发展中国家和转型国家。在最一般的层面上，它有助于研究非正式制度，以及正式和非正式制度之间的关系，通过确定非正式合同的执行机制在弱国家保护的财产权。除了其知识产权的优点，这篇论文有更广泛的影响。调查数据集有望对中国专家以及有兴趣比较转型国家跨国产权的学者有所帮助。同时，也将有助于中国学者了解政治学实证研究的跨学科方法和严谨的方法。最后，本研究的结果可能表明，中国的私营经济奇迹不能仅仅用政府行为和正式法规来解释，还需要我们研究私营企业家的行为。了解中国经济奇迹的基础不仅对中国制定能够使其经济增长持续下去的政策很重要，而且对美国预测中国经济未来的发展也很重要，这将对美国的对华政策产生影响。更重要的是，了解中国有助于我们为其他发展中国家制定更好的发展政策。

How has the private sector flourished and become the main engine of economic growth in transitional China, where state protection of private property rights is weak and the democratic system is absent? Departing from the existing state-centric approaches and treating Chinese property rights not uniformly insecure throughout China, the project theorizes that the success of the private economy in China can be traced in part to the actions of private entrepreneurs in promoting private property rights to secure their investments. This theory is tested empirically through an examination of social networks, chambers of commerce, and business political participation, using both qualitative evidence (from semi-structured interviews) and statistical analysis of an original survey. A survey of about 800 private entrepreneurs in eight counties in four provinces (two counties in each province) is conducted, and the survey data is analyzed to draw broadly generalizable inferences about how and how much social networks, chambers of commerce and business political participation promote Chinese property rights and contribute to the growth of China's private economy.This project is an interdisciplinary study that bridges political science, sociology, and economics, and it uses both qualitative and quantitative methods. In particular, this project contributes to three strands of literature. In the realm of Chinese politics studies, it adds to our knowledge of chambers of commerce and business political participation, thus advancing our understanding of how Chinese capitalists promote their interests and influence policymaking. It also generates insights that extend well beyond China by specifying that private property rights are not at a uniform level of security within states but circumstance-specific, a situation that may be applicable to other developing and transitional states. At the most general level, it contributes to the study of informal institutions as well as the relationship between formal and informal institutions by identifying the informal contract enforcement mechanisms under weak state protection of property rights.Beyond its intellectual merit, this dissertation has broader impacts. The survey datasets are expected to be useful for China specialists as well as scholars interested in comparing property rights cross-nationally in transitional states. It will also contribute to inform Chinese scholars of the interdisciplinary approach with rigorous methods in empirical studies of political science. Finally, findings from this project will likely indicate that China's private economic miracle cannot be explained by government action and its formal regulations alone, but requires us also to examine actions of private entrepreneurs. Understanding the basis of the Chinese economic miracle is important not only for China to develop policies that would allow its economic growth to continue, but also important for the U.S. to project what the Chinese economy will look like in the future, which will have implications for U.S. policy vis-à-vis China. Even more importantly, understanding China can help us develop better development policies for other developing countries.