ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the theoretical component of the book. It reviews influential literature which seeks to explain the relation between institutions and development. These approaches include new institutional economics, historical institutionalism, the developmental state, and the China Model literature. Above all, these positions emphasise the importance of institutional arrangements in economic development outcomes and seek to create typologies for different institutional settings. A critical review of the literature illustrates that an explanation resting upon rigid institutional settings, yet lacking a thorough consideration of the dynamic role social forces play in the constitution of institutions and ongoing structural changes in the global economy, will remain limited. Tackling the limitations of these approaches, this chapter proposes an alternative analytical framework that draws upon the Murdoch School theoretical rubric to unpack policymaking and implementation in relation to industrial upgrading in China.
