Doctoral Dissertations
Special zoning strategy in the People's Republic of China : state capacity and policy implementation
Date of Award
5-1998
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Major
Political Science
Major Professor
Robert B. Cunningham
Committee Members
Patricia Freeland, Robert Maddox, John Scheb, Yang Zhong
Abstract
Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays an important role in socio-economic development in developing countries. After WWII, most developing countries have utilized a special zoning strategy (SZS) – Free Trade Zones, Export Processing Zones, etc. – to attract FDI and to propel their economic takeoff.
In the development literature, there have been three major competing arguments concerning special zoning and foreign capital's role in socio-economic development: liberal (or Neo-classical), Marxist (or Neo-Marxist), and statist. Liberal and Marxist approaches do not provide satisfactory answers to different causes and results of SZS in different countries. The statist approach tries to ease the tension between the two approaches by focusing on the state's role in socio-economic development, and applies a new dimension of research, i.e., state capacity, to the research. However, there have been few studies specifically focusing on SZS in developing countries.
This research adopts the third approach — the statist approach ~ to provide a case study about China's SZS and its state's role in foreign investment and socio-economic development in the perspective of political economy. It describes the effectiveness of FDI policy and SZS implementation, and contends that state capacity is a major determinant for the state to play an important and positive role in social-economic development. The author defines China as a strong state which can use its various capabilities to utilize SZS. Variables used to measure the state control capability include "general state capacity" and "particular state capacity," which consist of six indicators.
The findings show that a developing country with a relatively strong state capacity can play a positive role in handling foreign capital inflow by using SZS. The China case provides an alternative route towards development which eases the tension between two opposite theories (Neo-Classic and Marxist theories) in political economy. It also provides a supplement for the Statist approach to development. That is, not only should a state intervene in socio-economic development in developing countries, but a state also needs to possess state capacity to implement the policies and fulfill the development goals. China's success in opening up to the outside world and maintaining its economic development under a relatively stable political condition shows that the state plays an important role in foreign investment and socio-economic development. Furthermore, a relatively strong state capacity provides a base for the state's positive intervention in FDI policy and SZS implementation.
Recommended Citation
Huang, Jianxin, "Special zoning strategy in the People's Republic of China : state capacity and policy implementation. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1998.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/9278