Enterprise Reform in Chinese Industry

This paper begins by using a structure-conduct-performance perspective to show that partial reform improved the operation of China's state industries during the 1980s. The authors review the achievements of industries outside the state sector, emphasizing their links to the state sector. The paper focuses on key defects in the industrial system related to finance and ownership; shows how the accelerated reform agenda of the 1980s seeks to resolve these issues; and conclude that China's recent industrial experience demonstrates the feasibility of multiple approaches, including partial and gradual reforms, to the restructuring of industry in former socialist economies.