Bureaucrats, Local Elites, and Economic Development

Historically, local elites play a central role in governance in traditional Chinese society. This social stratum has been conspicuously absent in the People’s Republic of China since 1949. This chapter revisits and examines the role of local elites in China’s governance and economic development. Conceptually, we argue that stable bureaucrats in China’s local governments who stay in a locality in their career play the role of local elites, with the double identity as the state agent and as representatives of local interests. Empirically, we examine patterns of “movers” and “stayers” in bureaucratic mobility in over 100 counties (districts) in Jiangsu Province and identify the location and distribution of those local officials as local elites in administrative jurisdictions. On this basis we examine the effect of local elites on economic development.