Rural industrialization in China's lower Yangzi delta: Institutionalizing transactional networks

Understanding the nature of spatial economic change in China's most rapidly developing regions requires a conceptual and methodological shift away from the conventional macro-perspectives. An analysis of the processes and mechanisms which underlie the unique patterns of transformation in China's lower Yangzi delta is undertaken. The paper focuses on the emergence of small scale institutional and transactional activities as they relate to the location of nonagricultural enterprises in the countryside. The way in which networks of interactions and interrelationships are embedded within specific local exigencies and opportunities for development reveals much about the wider regional spatial economic patterns and trends. The historical, administrative, and territorial contexts and some detailed examples of the resulting institutional frameworks are also highlighted. The paper proposes a framework whereby spatial economic transformation in China is reconceptualized in relation to intensely localized place-based institutional structures. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.