part of the Justice and Development in China: An Inter-School Graduate Colloquium Series

About the Talk:

This analysis brings attention to the important yet under-studied phenomenon of industrial transfer in China: the migration of capital and investments from wealthy coastal areas into poorer central and western provinces, beginning in the early 2000s. Laying a macro foundation for further empirical research, Yuen Yuen Ang traces the historical processes leading up to industrial transfer today, as well as economic and policy pressures that have recently accelerated this trend. Compared to the original “flying geese” model of tiered production within Asia, China’s experience is distinct in three ways: (1) industrial transfer occurred domestically, among locales rather than nations; (2) cross-national and sub-national transfer were sequentially linked; and (3) this transfer has been accompanied by varying responses from local governments. While coastal locales are determined to expel low-end industries, inland governments are far less selective and have belatedly adopted aggressive investment promotion tactics that were earlier practiced but subsequently abandoned on the coast.

About the Speaker:
Yuen Yuen Ang is assistant professor of political science at the University of Michigan. Her research features a unique blend of international development, Chinese political economy, and complex systems. Her first book, How China Escaped the Poverty Trap (2016), was published by the political economy series of Cornell University Press.

About this Colloquium
Launched on January 12, a group of graduate students across campus embarked on an intensive study of law, politics and society in contemporary China. The first part consisted of instruction from Wang Feng, Benjamin van Rooij, Jeffrey Wasserstrom, and Su Yang.

From February 23 onward, the second part of the colloquium, the students will participate in small workshops with leading experts from the US, Europe, and China actively discussing their latest research papers. The colloquium will also open up to a limited number of attendees interested in a comprehensive understanding of China's legal, political, and societal development.

Key topics include China's changing leadership policies, rule of law development and the functioning of courts and the legal profession, media and freedom of speech, inequality, population policy, social unrest, environment and climate change, labor relations, corruption, agriculture and food production. More about the colloquium >

Note: This is a graduate-level colloquium first and foremost. All attendees must read the paper before joining the session. Moreover, the students enrolled in the colloquium will be given priority to ask questions during the first hour. The floor will be open to a broader debate after this time.