Over the past two decades, no two economies have averaged more rapid economic growth than China and Vietnam.But while China‘s income inequality has risen rapidly over that same time frame, Vietnam‘s has only grown moderately. Structural and socio-cultural determinants fail to account for...

China's leaders describe their system of rule as “consultative democracy”, whereby the public, forbidden from organizing on matters of politics, is encouraged to participate on issues of policy. In particular, citizens are routinely solicited for input on upcoming policy debates. But are...

Despite the fact that China and Vietnam have been the world’s two fastest growing economies over the past two decades, their income inequality patterns are very different. In this paper, we take a deep look at political institutions in the two countries, demonstrating that profound differences...