This study interrogates the theoretical and empirical validities of two dominant theories about Chinese state in the post-Mao period. The authors argue that the meritocratic view has under-theorized the innate contradiction between officials' personal competence and political loyalty. In order...

More than half of the assets in China's banking system are accounted for by four huge state-owned commercial banks. This paper examines the changing factors influencing these banks' lending behavior over the post-1994 period on a province-by-province basis. Determinants include the concentration...