This article examines the economic development process underlying Shanghai's rapid urban transformation in the 1990s. It analyses the key factors that have contributed to the economic development there and assesses critically the role of the state in this process. It concludes that the sheer scale of investment and the national contexts, rather than far-sighted economic management at the local level, are the keys to its economic success. The article further argues that the prevailing views regarding the local state-market relationship in Shanghai need to be revised: beneath the façade of a proactive and omnipotent state are numerous instances of failure and ineffectiveness. Moreover, the market is much more than a tool in the state's decision-making. It is a growing force that the state is trying hard to control, but with increasing difficulties.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Acfbe (Almanac Of China'S Finance And Banking Editors) (2001) Almanac of China's Finance and Banking. Beijing: ACFBE (in Chinese).
2.
Bsupba (Bureau Of Shanghai Urban Planning And Building Administration) (1985) The Comprehensive Plan of Shanghai . Shanghai: BSUPBA (in Chinese).
3.
Chen, J.H. (1996) Some ideas on Shanghai's commercial development , Shanghai Economy,2, pp. 18-20 (in Chinese).
4.
Chen, J.W. (1997) Look at 'Chang Hong', Guangdian! A comparative study of Guangdian and Chang Hong, Shanghai Economy,5, pp. 37-39 (in Chinese).
5.
Chenery, H. (1986) Growth and Transformation, in: H. Chenery, S. Robinson, M. Syrquin (Eds) Industrialization and Growth , pp. 13-32. New York: Oxford University Press.
6.
Drcsmg (Development Research Center Of Shanghai Municipal Government) (1997) On the development of Shanghai's pillar industries beyond 2000, Shanghai Economy,3, pp. 16-18 (in Chinese).
7.
Drcsmg (Development Research Center Of Shanghai Municipal Government) (1999) On the Adjustment of industrial distribution in Shanghai, Shanghai Economy,5, pp. 4-6 (in Chinese).
8.
Editorial Board (1984) Shanghai Economy 1949-1982, internal edn. Shanghai: Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press (in Chinese).
9.
Eismpc (Economic Institute Of Shanghai Municipal Planning Commission) (2000) A comparative study of the contribution of technical progress to economic growth in Shanghai Working paper (in Chinese; mimeograph).
10.
Ghk/Mrm International Ltd, in association with Shankland Cox Ltd, Segal Quince Wicksteed (Asia) Ltd and Shanghai Urban Planning And Design Research Institute (1994) Tertiary Sector Economic Reform Policies and Redevelopment Planning for the Huai Hai RoadArea, Shanghai. Volume 2: Tertiary Sector Economic Reform Report and Appendices. ADB T. A. No. 1784-PRC. A consultancy report commissioned by the Asian Development Bank on behalf of the People's Bank of China, Shanghai Municipal Government and Luwan District Government.
11.
Han, S.S. (2000) Shanghai between state and market in urban transformation , Urban Studies, 37, pp. 2091-2112.
12.
Harris, N. (Ed.) (1992) Cities in the 1990s: The Challenge for Developing Countries. London: UCL Press.
13.
Ho, L.-S. and Tsui, K.-Y. (1996) Fiscal relations between Shanghai and the central government, in: Y.-M. Yeung and Y. Sung (Eds) Shanghai: Transformation and Modernization under China's Open Policy, pp. 153-169. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press.
14.
Idsmpc (Industrial Division Of Shanghai Municipal Planning Commission) (1999a) A study of development strategies for Shanghai's industry: executive summary. Working paper (in Chinese; mimeograph) .
15.
Idsmpc (Industrial Division Of Shanghai Municipal Planning Commission) (1999b) A study of development strategies for Shanghai's industry. Working paper (in Chinese; mimeograph).
16.
Ioie (Institute Of Industrial Economics), Chinese Academy Of Social Sciences (1998) China's Industrial Development Report 1998. Beijing: Economic Management Publishing House (in Chinese).
17.
Jiang, D., Chfn, J.J. and Isaac, D. (1998) The effect of foreign investment on the real estate industry in China, UrbanStudies, 35, pp. 2101-2110.
18.
Jiang, Y.R. (1996) The Emphases and Methods of Implementation for the Next Step in the Reform of Shanghai's State-owned Enterprises, Shanghai Economy,3, pp. 4-7 (in Chinese).
19.
Kang, Y. (2001) Shanghai Interpreted. Shanghai : The People's Press (in Chinese).
20.
Lal, D. ( 1983) The Poverty of 'Development Economics'. London: The Institute of Economic Affairs .
21.
Lall, S. (1996) Paradigm of development: the east Asian debate , Oxford Development Studies, 24, pp. 111-131.
22.
Lardy, N.R. (1992) Foreign Trade and Economic Reform in China, 1978-1990 . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Li, G. (1999) Shanghai's brands under pressure, Shanghai Economy,4, pp. 48-50 (in Chinese).
25.
Li, L.H. (1997) The political economy of the privatization of the land market in Shanghai, UrbanStudies, 34, pp. 321-335.
26.
Li, M. (1996) The development strategies for Baogang, Shanghai Economy,1, pp. 9-10 (in Chinese).
27.
Li, W.W. and Zhang, H.M. (1998) A study of urban infrastructure investment in transitional Shanghai, Social Sciences, 7, pp. 11-15, 48-49 (in Chinese).
28.
Lin, Z. ( 1994) Reform and Shanghai: changing central-local fiscal relations , in: Jia Hao and Z. Lin (Eds) Changing Central-local Relations in China: Reform and State Capacity, pp. 239-260. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
29.
Liu, G.G. and Dong, Z.K. (2000), Changes in ownership structure in China, Xinhua Wenzhai, 4, pp. 67-69 (in Chinese).
30.
Luo, Q. ( 1997) Shanghai: The 'dragon head' of China's economy , Issues and Studies, 33(6), pp. 17-32.
31.
Ma, Y. ( 1999) Deng Xiaoping's instructions on reform and opening-up in Shanghai and Shanghai's economic development, Social Sciences , 9, pp. 2-6 (in Chinese).
32.
Martinussen, J. (1997) Society, State and Market: A Guide to Competing Theories of Development. London: Zed Books.
33.
Meier, G.M. (1995) Leading Issues in Economic Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 6th edn.
34.
Nolan, P. and Wang, X.Q. (1999) Beyond privatization: institutional innovation and growth in China's large state-owned enterprises, World Development, 27(1), pp. 169-200.
35.
Olds, K. (1997) Globalizing Shanghai: the 'global intelligence corps' and the building of Pudong, Cities,14(2), pp. 109-123.
36.
Ray, D. ( 1998) Development Economics. Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press.
37.
Renaud, B. and Bertraud, A. (1995) Cities without land markets: location and land use in the socialist city. Policy Research Working Paper 1477, The World Bank, Washington, DC.
38.
Schumpeter, J.P. (1934) The Theory of Economic Development: An Inquiry into Profits, Capital, Credit, Interest, and the Business Cycle. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press .
Sfic (Shanghai Foreign Investment Commission) ( 1991) Guide to Investment in Shanghai. Shanghai : SFIC.
41.
Shi, Y. and Hanmett, C. (2001) The potential and prospect for global cities in China: in the context of the world system, Geoforum, 33, pp.121-125.
42.
Slg (Small Leading Group Of The Project On 'Shanghai Towards The 21St Century') (1995) Shanghai towards the 21st Century. Shanghai: People's Publishing House (in Chinese).
43.
SMG (Shanghai Municipal Government) (1994) Shanghai Towards the 21st Century: A Research Report on Economic and Social Development Strategy. Shanghai: SMG (in Chinese).
44.
Smio (Shanghai Municipal Information Office) and Smsb (Shanghai Municipal Statistical Bureau) (1997, 1999a, 2000) Shanghai Basic Facts. Shanghai : China Intercontinental Press.
45.
Smio and Smsb (1999b) Shanghai Basic Facts: Pudong New Area. Shanghai: China Intercontinental Press.
46.
Smsb (Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau) (various years) Statistical Yearbook of Shanghai. Beijing : China Statistics Publishing House.
47.
Solow, R. (1956) A contribution to the theory of economic growth , Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70, pp. 65-94.
48.
Ssb (State Statistical Bureau) (various years) People's Republic of China Statistical Yearbook. Beijing : China Statistical Publishing House.
49.
Sun, P. Et Al (1997) A survey report on the 're-employment project ' in Shanghai, Fudan University Journal, 3, pp. 102-108 (in Chinese).
50.
Tian, G. (1996) Shanghai's Role in the Economic Development of China: Reform of Foreign Trade and Investment. Westport, CT: Praeger.
51.
Undp (United Nations Development Programme) ( 1991) Cities, People and Poverty: Urban Development Cooperation for the 1990s. New York: UNDP.
52.
Vucinic, V. (1993) Ideology and pragmatism in China's urban land reform during the 1980s, in: G. Guldin and A. Southall (Eds) Urban Anthropology in China, pp. 216-242. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
53.
Wade, R. (1990) Governing the Market: Economy, Theory and The Role of Government in East Asian Industrialization. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
54.
Woo, W.T. (1999) The real reason for China's growth, China Journal, 41, pp. 115-137.
55.
World Bank (1991) Urban Policy and Economic Development: An Agendafor the 1990s. Washington, DC: World Bank.
56.
World Bank (1993) The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
57.
World Bank (2000) Cities in Transition: World Bank Urban and Local Government Strategy. Washington, DC: World Bank.
58.
World Bank (2001) World Development Report: Building Institutions for Markets. Washington, DC: World Bank.
59.
Wu, F. (1999) The 'game' of landed-property production and capital circulation in China's transitional economy, with reference to Shanghai, Environment and Planning A, 31, pp.1757-1771.
60.
Wu, F. (2000) The global and local dimensions of place-making: remaking Shanghai as a world city, UrbanStudies, 36(8), pp. 1359-1377.
61.
Wu, F. (2002) China's changing urban governance in the transition towards a more market-oriented economy, UrbanStudies, 39(7), pp.1071-1093.
62.
Wu, W. (1999) Reforming China's institutional environment for urban infrastructure provision, UrbanStudies, 36(13), pp. 2263-2282.
63.
Yeh, A.G.O. (1996) Pudong: remaking Shanghai as a world city, in: Y.-M. Yeung and Y. Sung (Eds) Shanghai: Transformation and Modernization under China's Open Policy, pp. 273-298. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press.
64.
Yeh, A.G.-O. and Wu, F. (1996) The new land development process and urban development in Chinese cities, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 20(2), pp. 330-353.
65.
Yeung, Y.-M. and Li, X. (1999) Bargaining with transnational corporations: the case of Shanghai, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 22(1), pp. 512-533.
66.
Yeung, Y.-M. and Sung, Y. (1996) Shanghai: Transformation and Modernization under China's Open Policy. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press.
67.
Zhang, L.-Y. (1999) Chinese central-provincial fiscal relationships, budgetary decline and the impact of 1994 fiscal reform: an evaluation, The China Quarterly, 157, pp. 115-141.
68.
Zhang, L.-Y. (2001) Financial sector reform in China and its impact on enterprises: the case of Shanghai. Paper presented at the International Conference on China Financial Sector Reform, Harvard (http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/cbg/FinSectConfpapers/ ).
69.
Zhang, T. (2002) Urban development and a socialist pro-growth coalition in Shanghai, Urban Affairs Review, 37(4), pp. 475-499.
70.
Zhang, Y.W. (1996) It's time to change the strategies, Shanghai Economy,5, pp. 6-8 (in Chinese).
71.
Zhang, Z. and Zhang, D. (1999) The role of Shanghai in China's economic development , Social Sciences, 4, pp. 20-22 (in Chinese).
