Abstract
The transition from plan to market in China has been almost completed without any master-plan. The paper proposes to conceive this strategy of crossing the river by touching the stones as evolutionary process with a stepwise endogenization of political constraints of transition. A framework for analyzing evolutionary political economy is developed, which pays particular attention at cognitive models, political entrepreneurship and political communication. This allows to establish relations with existing paradigms in China studies, such as the quasi-federalism approach. I apply this conceptual framework on four case studies: decentralization of the fiscal system, land ownership, urban social structure and expectations, and ideology. I conclude that the Chinese case raises some fundamental methodological issues in the social sciences, especially with regard to the role of medium-level analytical constructs.
Published Version
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