ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book identifies research questions about the current private sector, and its future expansion, through growth or through the continuing transformation of the remaining state sector. It outlines two broad features that make China's path distinctive. The first is macropolitical, and its impact can be appreciated only in comparative perspective. China's political institutions have exhibited strong continuity, while maintaining strong barriers to the rapid privatization of state assets. This combination is a distinctive one, and it has avoided some of the worst problems often associated with rapid privatization in the midst of disruptive political change. The second factor is institutional, at the firm level. Property rights have evolved gradually but steadily through the massive entry of small firms and the 'creeping privatization' of public assets in a highly competitive market environment.
