Rural enterprises have played an important role in the extraordinary success of China's economy over the last two decades. They have greatly increased off-farm employment in rural areas and brought substantially increased incomes and standards of living to many rural people. Jun Li provides a comprehensive analysis of the financing of China's rural enterprises over the reform period, and discusses the key aspects of rural enterprise development in China, including the growth of rural enterprises and enterprise-level behaviour, the role of state policy, rural financial institutions and local government. Brings new and challenging analysis to the current debate on the Chinese financial system and the financing of SMEs.

This collection of papers presented at an international conference in 1987 provides a comprehensive analysis of China's booming rural non-state industrial sector, both collective and private.

Key to China's plans to promote rural development is the de-marginalisation of the countryside through the incorporation of rural areas into the urban-based market-oriented financial system. For this reason, Chinese development planners have turned to microcredit -- i.e. the provision of small-scale loans to 'financially excluded' rural households -- as a means of increasing 'financial consciousness' and facilitating rural de-marginalisation. Drawing on in-depth fieldwork in rural China, this book examines the formulation, implementation and outcomes of government-run microcredit programmes in China-illuminating the diverse roles that microcredit plays in local processes of socioeconomic development and the livelihoods of local actors. It details how microcredit facilitates de-marginalisation for some, while simultaneously exacerbating the marginalisation of others; and exposes the ways in which microcredit and other top-down development strategies reflect and reinforce the contradictions and paradoxes implicit in rural China's contemporary development landscape.

An edited volume consisting of an introduction by the editors and eleven additional papers on China's financial system and financial sector reform. The papers originated at a conference on financial reform in China held at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, in 2001. They were then thoroughly revised and updated for publication.

Abstract: China is often mentioned as a counterexample to the findings in the finance and growth literature since, despite the weaknesses in its banking system, it is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The fast growth of Chinese private sector firms is taken as evidence that it is alternative financing and governance mechanisms that support China's growth. This paper takes a closer look at firm financing patterns and growth using a database of 2,400 Chinese firms. The authors find that a relatively small percentage of firms in the sample utilize formal bank finance with a much greater reliance on informal sources. However, the results suggest that despite its weaknesses, financing from the formal financial system is associated with faster firm growth, whereas fund raising from alternative channels is not. Using a selection model, the authors find no evidence that these results arise because of the selection of firms that have access to the formal financial system. Although firms report bank corruption, there is no evidence that it significantly affects the allocation of credit or the performance of firms that receive the credit. The findings suggest that the role of reputation and relationship based financing and governance mechanisms in financing the fastest growing firms in China is likely to be overestimated.

This report aims to take stock of the domestic private sector in China which has emerged over the past twenty years. It is based on surveys and interviews carried out in four locations in China where private sector development is relatively advanced. These studies were supplemented by discussions with entrepreneurs, industry associations, and government officials. The report focuses on three main themes: the structure of private enterprises, the enabling environment for their development and, access to financing. For each of these areas, the report presents an analysis of constraints on private sector development and outlines an agenda for addressing these constraints. The report recommends that, in order to encourage continuing private sector growth, the government should create a level playing field for all enterprises by intervening less and focusing on improved commercial legislation and more open markets. Financial institutions must develop to serve the private sector, and private enterprises need to mature and improve their corporate governance, in order to derive the most benefit from improvements in the business environment.