ChinaTalk How Corruption Works in China
Jul 10, 2020
Yuan Yuan Ang, a Professor at the University of Michigan and author of "China's Gilded Age," dives deep into the intriguing nexus of corruption and governance in China. She explains how rapid economic growth coexists with corruption, contrasting 'access money' at higher bureaucracy levels with 'speed money' below. The conversation touches on the evolution of corruption since Deng Xiaoping's reforms, the unique challenges women face in politics, and draws parallels between China’s current state and America's historical Gilded Age.
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Unbundling Corruption
- Common corruption indices oversimplify corruption as a single scale, hindering nuanced analysis.
- Unbundling corruption into different categories reveals varying impacts on growth and governance.
Four Categories of Corruption
- Corruption can be categorized into petty theft, grand theft, speed money, and access money.
- These categories, analogous to different drugs, have varying negative impacts, from deadweight loss to long-term side effects.
Access Money vs. Speed Money
- Speed money is like a tax, paid to overcome obstacles, while access money is an investment for future returns.
- Access money, though potentially harmful, incentivizes growth, unlike petty or grand theft.
