The Role of Law in China's Economic Development, 1978-2011 - A Study in Law and Political Economy

This book concerns how China's legal institutions promoted its economic growth and demonstrates that the law has played different roles at various stages of China's economic transformation, a signal of legal paradigm shifts in reaction to the changing political and economic pursuits.
By decomposing the role of law in the process, the author argues that while the Chinese economy was transforming from a planned economy to a market-oriented one, the law also made its adjustment as a response-the Chinese legal system was evolving from the one consisting of primarily substantive laws to the one filled with high-level formal laws by the end of the last century. The above observation of legal formalization is further consolidated by introducing the particularities of China's legal education in those years-a topic rarely dealt with yet of significance to comprehensively understand the Chinese legal system in practice. 
Overall, the present book argues against the modernization theory and determinism that would anticipate a similar developmental path globally and shows that the relationship between law and economic development is contingent. Therefrom, this study weighs in the law and development debate and breaks a perception of static law in the economy by rejecting the conventional perception of established legal institutions as a precondition of modernity.
Hence, this book could appeal to legal scholars and sociologists interested in reevaluating western theories of free economy and its relationships to the law. In addition, scholars interested in research methodology would find the perspective of paradigm shifts in interpreting China's transformations a helpful analytical framework in research. Moreover, policymakers and legislators concerned about the characteristics of law for economic results would also find the book useful.


Ms. Jia Hu received her legal training from China and Germany. She earned her Ph.D. from the Goethe University Frankfurt by completing a study concerning the interrelationship between law and China's economic development (1978-2011), a topic she has devoted to since her early years of legal theory study in Frankfurt. Her present research was funded by the China Scholarship Council, and her specialized research areas include legal theory, Max Weber studies, sociology of law, law and public finance.