China: An Economics Research Study Series by Institute of World Economy and Politics; 119 pages; Intl Specialized Book Services; August 30, 2004
This is part of a series based on research done at China's Institute of World Economy & Politics (IWEP) a think tank linked with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. The studies offer analysis of various aspects of Chinese economics and politics. Each volume in the series features material culled from China and World Economy and IWEP journal, and also contains original research findings by IWEP staff. The volume also includes discussions of trends in China's economic growth, which country or region will benefit from that growth, foreign direct investment in the Chinese automotive industry and critical factors relating to rural poverty in China.
Corruption and Market in Contemporary China by Yan Sun; 272 pages; Cornell University Press; September 30, 2004
Yan Sun looks at the question of whether corruption is an inevitable part of China's transition to a free-market economy and examines the ways in which market reforms in the China have shaped corruption since 1978. Just as interesting, she considers how corruption has, in turn, shaped reforms. One conclusion: she suggests that recent corruption is largely a byproduct of post-Mao reforms, spurred by the economic incentives and structural opportunities in the emerging marketplace. Sun finds that the steady retreat of the state has both increased mechanisms for cadre misconduct and reduced disincentives against it. Sun had no shortage of material to work with. Chinese disciplinary offices, law enforcement agencies, and legal professionals compile and publish annual casebooks of economic crimes. The cases, processed through the Chinese penal system, represent offenders from party-state agencies at central and local levels, as well as state firms of varying sizes and types of ownership. Sun uses these casebooks to illuminate the extent and variety of corruption that has come about with China's opening up. Unintended and informal mechanisms arising from corruption may, she finds, take on a life of their own and undermine the central state's ability to implement its developmental policies, discipline its staff, enforce its regulatory infrastructure, and fundamentally transform the economy.
Yao Ming: The Road to the NBA by C.F. Xiao; translated by Philip Robyn; 254 pages; Long River Press; US$18.95 (Hardcover) at Chinabooks.com; 2004
This book tells the story of a Chinese breaking into the toughest franchise business there is, American basketball. Philip Robyn traces the roots of Yao's spectacular debut in the NBA and explores how it happened and the impact that the phenomenon has had on China's youth and official sports community. The author goes into some detail about Yao's personal history and family life and early training in basketball.