Decaying State, Crumbling Society: Illicit Violence and Private Business in Rural China

• In Event: 4367 - Section on Asia and Asian America Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: 2. Economic Sociology

Abstract

Transitional China offers an ideal opportunity for scholars to examine an important yet understudied topic – the relationship between entrepreneurship and extensive social change. Using a national sample survey of private business owners in 1,209 Chinese villages, we found that villains as actors of illicit violence significantly reduced a rural business’s income. Moreover, this negative effect was stronger if (1) the village administration requisitioned more agricultural lands; (2) the business owner was female; or (3) the business owner was an “outsider” (i.e., was not born in the village). These findings are consistent with our argument that local Chinese state has decayed as it relies on illicit violence to execute its predatory agenda, and that social control has considerably weakened in rural China when more male adults migrate to cities for work. Our study illuminates the emerging “gangster capitalism” in post-socialist China, deep challenges faced by Chinese state and society, and more generally, the intricate relationship between the state, private business, and illicit violence.

Authors

• Dali Ma, Drexel University

• Xiaogang He, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics

• Chan Yang, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics