Economic Reform and Development Property Rights System

Author: Liu Wei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-12-12
Features: This book analyzes the driving forces, contradictions, prospects, and trends of reform and development from the perspective of property rights systems, set against the backdrop of China's reform and opening-up. The author first elaborates on the scope of property rights, examines the divergent understandings of property rights in China's economics academia, and explores the underlying value orientations and policy inclinations behind these differences. The author also investigates the relationship between property rights systems and market mechanisms, the connection between property rights system reform and resource allocation methods, the progress and issues of state-owned enterprise reforms, and the significance of the non-state-owned economy for China's marketization and economic growth. The author's research findings, both theoretically and practically, hold significant reference value for the deepening of China's economic system reforms and the establishment of modern enterprise systems in China. Target Audience: Economic workers and students majoring in economics at universities and colleges.
The book Interpretation of Property Rights in Economic Reform and Development applies Professor Liu Wei's unique insights and methods of property rights research to the specific practices of China's reforms. It holds strong theoretical and practical significance for China's ownership reform, state-owned enterprise reforms, and corporate governance structures.
From a theoretical perspective, the book first elaborates on the concept of property rights from the perspective of comparative economic thought history and integrates it into the context of Chinese economics, creatively deriving the author's fundamental principles for interpreting property rights. Secondly, it examines the interrelationship between property rights systems and market mechanisms from a foundational theoretical standpoint, analyzes the general requirements of market economies for property rights systems, and explores various property rights arrangements beyond the scope of market mechanisms to address their shortcomings. Finally, it theoretically discusses the recognition and debates surrounding the role of property rights system reform in market-oriented reforms, as seen in the development of Western economics and reform theories. Drawing on the theoretical research and reform practices of enterprise property rights systems in the former Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Eastern Europe, and later Russia, it emphasizes that unifying public ownership with a market economy is, fundamentally, the fundamental direction and hope for China's reforms.
This book not only demonstrates a high level of theoretical depth and rigor but also effectively integrates international property rights theories into the specific realities of China's reforms.
In terms of linking theory with practice, the book explores the progress and contradictions of state-owned enterprise reforms through the lens of property rights system reform, analyzes the trends of these reforms, and identifies the root causes of the various asset management issues faced by state-owned enterprises—their institutional inability to adapt to the competitive demands of a market economy. It further proposes solutions, such as institutional reform, particularly the transformation of state-owned enterprise property rights systems.
The book particularly elaborates on the significance of the non-state-owned economy for the development of China's market economy and economic growth, examining the contradictions and development prospects of non-state-owned economies amid changes in China's ownership structure. It highlights that the growth of the non-state-owned economy is a primary driver of high economic growth during "soft landing" and a key force in achieving low inflation.
The book also studies the interrelationship between corporate legal property rights and corporate governance structures, arguing that corporate governance structures are closely linked to corporate legal property rights systems and can be considered the organizational form of these systems. The effective arrangement of corporate legal property rights is the fundamental prerequisite for the effectiveness of corporate governance structures. It points out that the most fundamental measure to improve China's corporate governance structures is to deepen corporate property rights system reform. The book explores the improvement of corporate governance structures from four aspects: the selection of governance structure types, the market tradability of corporate equity, China's capital markets, and the "manager market."
The book analyzes the driving forces, contradictions, prospects, and trends of reform and development from the perspective of property rights systems, set against the backdrop of China's reform and opening-up. It is divided into six chapters.
Chapter 1 elaborates on the concept of property rights, introducing the definitions of property rights from the perspective of comparative economic thought history and the historical foundations for differing definitions. It particularly examines the divergent understandings of property rights in Chinese economics academia and the underlying value orientations and policy inclinations behind these differences, thereby deriving the author's fundamental principles for interpreting property rights: ① Property rights, as rights related to property, belong to the superstructure category and are a "category" of rights; ② Property rights, as rights related to property, are a bundle of rights encompassing various property rights relationships; ③ The difficulty in defining property rights mainly lies in explaining the relationship between property rights and ownership; ④ Property rights, as property rights, as a category distinct from ownership, have a fundamental significance and institutional prerequisite in a market economy; ⑤ Defining property rights must explicitly address "corporate legal property rights."
Chapter 2 examines the interrelationship between property rights systems and market mechanisms from a foundational theoretical standpoint, analyzes the general requirements of market economies for property rights systems, and clearly states: market economies require property rights to be purely economic in nature; market economies require clear boundaries between different transaction subjects; the trend of market economy development requires institutional division of property rights based on their functions. It examines the intrinsic relationship between property rights systems and market order from four levels: the order of market economy subjects, the order of market economy transactions, the legal order of the market economy, and the moral order of the market economy. It conducts an in-depth study of the intrinsic link between property rights systems and market failures, pointing out that no matter how main property rights are defined in reality, it is difficult to fully guarantee the effectiveness of market mechanisms from the property rights system perspective. It explores various property rights arrangements beyond the requirements of market mechanisms to address their shortcomings.
Chapter 3 examines the logical connection between property rights system reform and the transformation of resource allocation methods, theoretically discussing the recognition and debates surrounding the role of property rights system reform in market-oriented reforms, as seen in the development of Western economics and reform theories. It points out that while unifying public ownership with a market economy is a unprecedented challenge, it is fundamentally the fundamental direction and hope for China's reforms. This chapter particularly analyzes the contradictions between property rights reform and market development during China's reform process, pointing out that the reform of enterprise property rights and the construction of market order are two inseparable aspects of the same process.
Chapter 4 examines the progress and contradictions of state-owned enterprise reforms through the lens of property rights system reform, analyzing the trends of these reforms. This chapter points out that the fundamental proposition of state-owned enterprise reforms, whether from the perspective of institutional reform goals or the process of marketization, lies in: how to truly accept the hard constraints of the market in terms of institutions; how to reshape state-owned enterprises in line with the general competitive requirements of the market economy; and how to create the necessary micro-institutional foundations for the market economy through corporate property rights systems and ownership reform, with public ownership as the mainstay. It points out that the current contradiction in China's state-owned enterprise reforms is the conflict between the asset system of public ownership and the operation of a socialist market economy. The fundamental solution to the problems of state-owned enterprises lies in institutional reform, particularly the transformation of state-owned enterprise property rights systems.
Chapter 5 explains the driving forces behind the progress of China's economic reform and development from the perspective of the evolution of ownership structures, particularly elaborating on the significance of the non-state-owned economy for the development of China's market economy and economic growth, and exploring the contradictions and development prospects of non-state-owned economies amid changes in China's ownership structure. This chapter points out that the growth of the non-state-owned economy is a primary driver of high economic growth during "soft landing" and a key force in achieving low inflation. It explores the main contradictions faced by China's non-state-owned economy in the evolution of ownership structures.
Chapter 6 examines the interrelationship between corporate legal property rights and corporate governance structures, arguing that corporate governance structures are closely linked to corporate legal property rights systems and can be considered the organizational form of these systems. The effective arrangement of corporate legal property rights is the fundamental prerequisite for the effectiveness of corporate governance structures. It points out that the most fundamental measure to improve China's corporate governance structures is to deepen corporate property rights system reform. The book explores the improvement of corporate governance structures from four aspects: the selection of governance structure types, the market tradability of corporate equity, China's capital markets, and the "manager market."