"The Increasing Significance of Guanxi in the Chinese Transitional Economy"

Yanjie Bian, Professor, Sociology, University of Minnesota

How do guanxi networks matter in Chinese transitional economy?  Sociologist Yanjie Bian proposes a theoretical model in which the dynamism of guanxi networks is considered as social actors' behavioral response to the changing degrees of institutional uncertainty and market competition of the economy.  Recent survey data on occupational mobility and enterprise development provide empirical support of this model.

Discussant: Aihwa Ong, Professor, Anthropology, UC Berkeley