Understanding Chinese State Capitalism
The Center for Chinese Legal Studies and the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law Co-Host a Groundbreaking Conference on the Implications of China's Development
New York, June 25, 2014—Scholars have devoted extensive attention to Chinese economic policy, which combines market-oriented approaches with intensive and wide-ranging state intervention. Yet, according to Columbia Law School professors Benjamin Liebman and Curtis J. Milhaupt ’89, there has not been a comprehensive in-depth study of the institutional implications of China’s transformative development under state capitalism—until now.
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| Professors Benjamin Liebman, left, and Curtis J. Milhaupt '89 convened the workshop to explore the domestic and global implications of Chinese state capitalism. |
Liebman and Milhaupt, directors of the Center for Chinese Legal Studies and the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law, respectively, are the editors of an upcoming volume, Chinese State Capitalism and Institutional Change: Domestic and Global Implications, that will illuminate this emerging field of inquiry. On June 13 and 14, the Center for Chinese Legal Studies and the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law sponsored a workshop that convened a group of scholars in diverse fields who are contributing papers to the collection.
“With a focus on what state capitalism means for China, leading scholars from law, political science, and economics came to present important cross-disciplinary work on a range of topics,” said Liebman, the Robert L. Lieff Professor of Law.
Academics and practitioners from China, the United States, Canada, the U.K., and Brazil shared their work and engaged in high-level dialogue on issues including how state-owned and state-invested enterprises (SOEs) influence the formation and enforcement of regulation, how state capitalism may constrain opportunities for private sector business formation, and how the Chinese system influences global governance regimes and norms.
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| Scholars and practitioners from around the world gathered to discuss their work, which will be compiled into a new volume, Chinese State Capitalism and Institutional Change: Domestic and Global Implications. |
“Very little analysis has been devoted to the impact of Chinese state capitalism on institutional development—for China domestically and in the realm of global trade, investment, and antitrust regulation,” said Milhaupt, the Parker Professor of Comparative Corporate Law, director of the Center for Japanese Legal Studies, and Fuyo Professor of Japanese Law. “Our project examines how extensive state intervention and participation in the economy influences legal development in China in areas such as the environment, labor and corporate law, and the conundrums Chinese state capitalism pose for global economic governance.”