The fast-paced and large-scale Chinese urban development since 1980 is unprecedented in China's urban history. Much of the credit has to be attributed to a nascent local property industry which itself is the product of the economic reforms. Two factors—building commodification and marketization, and state-owned-enterprise (SOE) reforms—have germinated a local property industry, with the facilitation of inward foreign capital, in the context of transition from a static and rigid planning system to a dynamic market-oriented economy. Nevertheless, the gradualist economic reforms and piecemeal SOE transformation, which are intended to transform the Chinese urban economy by increment and experimentation, complicate the evolution of the property industry, which has developed unique characteristics in the transitional time between plan and market. The presence of inequality in the market and absence of measures for hardening soft budget constraints have moulded a market in the making. Market efficiency is compromised and a dual plan—market system puts the competitiveness of the growing property industry in jeopardy.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbrahamJ MHendershottP H, 1994Bubbles in Metropolitan Housing Markets (National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA)
2.
AmbroseP J, 1986Whatever Happened to Planning? (Methuen, London)
AndruszG, 1996, “Structural change and boundary instability”, in Cities After Socialism: Urban and Regional Change and Conflict in Post-socialist Societies Eds AndruszGHarloeMSzelenyiI (Blackwell, Oxford) pp 30–69
5.
BalchinPKieveJ, 1985Urban Land Economics (Macmillan, London)
6.
BarrasR, 1987, “Technical change and the urban development cycle”Urban Studies245–30
7.
BarrasR, 1984, “The office development cycle in London”Land Development Studies135–50
8.
BarrasRFergusonD, 1985, “A spectral analysis of building cycles in Britain”Environment and Planning A171369–1391
9.
BeiQ Z, 1990Jingji Tequ Caizhen Jingrong [Finance in Special Economic Zones] (Haiyang, Beijing) (in Chinese)
10.
BertaudARenaudB, 1994Cities Without Land Market—Lessons of the Failed Socialist Experiment (World Bank, Washington, DC)
11.
CaoH TChuZ H (Eds), 1990The Urban Construction of Contemporary China (China Social Science Publishing, Beijing) (in Chinese)
12.
DalyM T, 1982Sydney Boom Sydney Bust: The City and its Property Market 1850–1981 (Allen and Unwin, Sydney)
13.
DunleavyP, 1981The Politics of Mass Housing in Britain, 1945–1975: A Study of Corporate Power and Professional Influence in the Welfare State (Clarendon Press, Oxford)
14.
EggertssonT, 1994, “The economics of institutions in transition economies”, in Institutional Change and the Public Sector in Transitional Economies Ed. Schiavo-CampoS (World Bank, Washington, DC)
15.
FainsteinS S, 1994The City Builders—Property, Politics and Planning in London and New York (Blackwell, Oxford)
16.
GoreTNicholsonD, 1985, “The analysis of public sector land ownership and development”, in Land Policy: Problems and Alternatives Eds BarrettSHealeyP (Gower, Aldershot, Hants) pp 179–202
17.
GuoR J, 1997, “Speech in the Meeting of SOE Structural Adjustment”, in Practices and Searches to Establish the System of Modern Enteprises in ShenzhenShanzhcn State-owned Enteprises Reform Leading Group (Haitian, Shenzhen) pp 68–73 (in Chinese)
18.
HallT, 1990Business Cycles: The Nature and Causes of Economic Fluctuations (Praeger, New York)
19.
HallettG, 1979Urban Land Economics: Principles and Policy (Macmillan, London)
20.
HarveyD, 1978, “The urban process under capitalism—a framework for analysis”International Journal of Urban and Regional Research2101–131
21.
HarveyD, 1982The Limits to Capital (Basil Blackwell, Oxford)
22.
HarveyD, 1985The Urbanization of Capital (Basil Blackwell, Oxford)
23.
HarveyD, 1996Justice, Nature and the Geography of Difference (Blackwell, Cambridge, MA)
24.
HaussermannH, 1996, “From the socialist to the capitalist city: Experiences from Germany”, in Cities after Socialism: Urban and Regional Change and Conflict in Post-socialist Societies Eds AndruszGHarloeMSzelenyiI (Blackwell, Oxford) pp 214–231
25.
HeJ S, 1997, “The exploration to SSEZ SOE reforms”Tequ Jinji434–36 (in Chinese)
26.
HealeyP, 1991, “Urban regeneration and the development industry”Regional Studies2597–110
27.
HealeyP, 1992, “From shipyard to housing estate: The transformation of the urban fabric”, in Rebuilding the City: Property-led Urban Regeneration Eds HealeyPUsherDDavoudiSTavsanogluSO'TooleM (E&FN Spon, London) pp 145–173
28.
IFTE/IPA, 1992Urban Land Use and Management in ChinaInstitute of Finance and Trade Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Public Administration (Jingji Publishing House, Beijing)
29.
ImbroscioD L, 1997Reconstructing City Politics: Alternative Economic Development and Urban Regimes (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA)
30.
JenkinsS, 1975Landlords to London: The Story of a Capital and Its Growth (Constable, London)
31.
JiangQ, 1995, “State asset management reform: Clarified property rights and responsibilities”, in Policy Options for Reform of Chinese State-owned Enterprises Ed. BroadmanmH G (World Bank, Washington, DC) pp 91–100
32.
KhouryS, 1984Speculative Markets (Macmillan, New York)
33.
KnightJ, 1992Institutions and Social Conflict (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge)
34.
KrabbenELambooyJ G, 1993, “A theoretical framework for the functioning of the Dutch property market”Urban Studies301381–1397
35.
KydlandF E (Ed.), 1995Business Cycle Theory (Edward Elgar, Aldershot, Hants)
36.
LassarT J, 1990City Deal Making (Urban Land Institute, Washington, DC)
37.
LiZ B, 1997, “Speech in the Shenzhen SOEs Working Meeting”, in Practices and Searches to Establish the System of Modern Enteprises in ShenzhenShenzhen State-owned Enterprises Reform Leading Group (Haitian, Shenzhen) pp 14–30 (in Chinese)
38.
LimJ YCaiFLiZ, 1996The China Miracle: Development Strategy and Economic Reform (The Chinese University Press, Hong Kong)
39.
LiuW, 1997, “On the process of China's SOE reforms”Tequ Jinji113–15 (in Chinese)
40.
LüXPerryE J (Eds), 1997Danwei: The Changing Chinese Workplace in Historical and Comparative Perspective (M E Sharpe, Armonk, NY)
MiliutinN A, 1974Sotsgorod: The Problem of Building Socialist Cities (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA)
43.
NDSPLB, 1997, “Survey of real estate in Nanshan District”, Nashan Division, Shenzhen Planning and Land Bureau, Jianyi Building, Zhenxin Road, Shenzhen J18031 (in Chinese)
44.
NorthD C, 1990Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge)
45.
NorthD C, 1993, “Institutional change: A framework of analysis”, in Institutional Change: Theory and Empirical Findings Ed. SjostrandS E (M E Sharpe, Armonk, NY) pp 35–46
46.
NorthD C, 1995, “Five propositions about institutional change”, in Explaining Social Institutions Eds KnightJAnnSened I (University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor) pp 15–26
47.
OborneM, 1986China's Special Economic Zones (OECD, Paris)
48.
PaganoM ABowmanA, 1995Cityscapes and Capital: The Politics of Urban Development (Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD)
49.
PeiserR, 1990, “Who plans America? Planners or developers”Journal of American Planning Association56496–503
50.
PerkinsF, 1995Productivity Performance and Priorities for the Reform of China's State-owned Enterprises (Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Canberra)
51.
ReckingerJ DMosenaDChunCFloresR, 1991, “The government's perspective on the land development process”, in Challenging Uneven Development: An Urban Agenda for the 1990s Eds NydenP WWiewelW (Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ) pp 166–179
52.
SandercockL, 1979Land Racket: The Real Cost of Property Speculation (Silverfish Books, O'Connor, Camberra)
53.
SBoS, 1987Shenzhen Yearbook of StatisticsShenzhen Bureau of Statistics (China Statistical Publishing House, Beijing) (in Chinese)
54.
SBoS, 1996Shenzhen Yearbook of Statistics
55.
SBoS, 1997Shenzhen Yearbook of Statistics
56.
SEC/MURCEP, 1984, “Temporary measures for urban construction and comprehensive development companies”, State Economic Commission/Ministry of Urban and Rural Construction and Environmental Protection, Beijing
57.
SERC, 1997Practice and Search to Establish the System of Modern Enterprises in ShenzhenShenzhen Enterprise Reforms Committee (Haitian, Shenzhen) (in Chinese)
58.
ShenQ S, 1995, “A survey of Shenzhen enterprises' assets”Tequ Jinji1046–47 (in Chinese)
59.
SMBS, 1996Shanghai Yearbook of Statistics 1995Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics (China Statistical Publishing House, Beijing) (in Chinese)
60.
SolesburyW, 1974Policy in Urban Planning: Structure Plans, Programme and Local Plans (Pergamon Press, Oxford)
61.
SREE1991a, “Shenzhen's first land tender in 1991”Shenzhen Real Estate Express 12 August, page 2
62.
SREE1991b, “Fierce competition in land bidding”, 2 October, page 2
63.
SREE1991c, “The future of Shenzhen real estate industry”, 12 October, page 3
64.
SREE1991d, “The third land tender”, 2 November, page 2
65.
Straits Times1998, “Shanghai stops granting land for projects”, 15 January
66.
TangY, 1989, “Urban land use in China: Policy issues and options”Land Use Policy6(1) 53–63
67.
UvalicM, 1992Investment and Property Rights in Yugoslavia (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge)
68.
YSRE1991Yearbook of Shenzhen Real Estate, 1990 (People's China Publishing, Beijing) (in Chinese)
69.
YSRE1992Yearbook of Shenzhen Real Estate, 1991
70.
YSRE1993Yearbook of Shenzhen Real Estate, 1992
71.
YSRE1994Yearbook of Shenzhen Real Estate, 1993
72.
YSRE1995Yearbook of Shenzhen Real Estate, 1994
73.
YSRE1996Yearbook of Shenzhen Real Estate, 1995
74.
YSRE1997Yearbook of Shenzhen Real Estate, 1996
75.
ZhangZ, 1993Shenzhen Real Estate Market (Tongji University Press, Shanghai) (in Chinese)
76.
ZhuJ, 1986, “Development of urban resident density and hypothesis of logistic curve”Urban Planning Forum62–16 (in Chinese)
77.
ZhuJ, 1994, “Changing land policy and its impact on local growth: The experience of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, China, in the 1980s”Urban Studies311611–1623
78.
ZhuJ, 1996a, “Denationalization of urban physical development: The experiment in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, China”Cities13187–194
79.
ZhuJ, 1996b, “Urban land management system in transition”, in The Land Reform Process in the Post-communist Countries Eds LeeJ SKimW BJungH N (Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, Anyang) 361–374
80.
ZhuJ, 1999, “Local growth coalition: The context and implications of China's gradualist urban land reforms”International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
81.
ZhuX HYuanY C, 1997, “Causes for SOEs' losses and countermeasures”Tequ Jinji248–49 (in Chinese)
