Book  

Institutional Change and Adaptive Efficiency: A Study of China’s Hukou System Evolution

This book offers policymakers a better understanding of institutional change in dynamic economic contexts, helping them enhance economic performance.

Rows of houses in the foreground, in the background skyscrapers against a foggy sky

Since the 1990s, neo-institutionalists have posited that “institutions matter”. However, they overlook one important issue: the ways institutions change also matters. Numerous academic studies have identified “good” and “bad” institutions, but little has been written about effective methods of transforming “bad” institutions so that they enhance economic performance. To fill this gap, this book reframes the approach of neo-institutional economics to analyze institutions’ role and evolution, focusing on the interaction between the household registration (hukou) system evolution and economic transformation.

The authors apply an endogenous and dynamic perspective. First, the theory of endogenous institutional change illustrates how the drivers of hukou system evolution differ in the pre-reform and reform eras. Second, the theory of adaptive efficiency evaluates the evolution of the system’s institutional efficiency. Finally, the authors were able to test the impact of the hukou reform on urban economic growth by examining local experimentation, helping explain the current “stickiness” of the system.

At the heart of hukou reform lies the question of how to deal with the link between hukou and welfare provision. This book will offer policymakers a better understanding of institutional change in dynamic economic contexts, helping them enhance economic performance.

More from this Program

See All Programs

The Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia and the East Asian Institute (EAI) at the National University of Singapore Forge Academic Partnership

Media Release

The Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia and the East Asian Institute (EAI) at the National University of Singapore Forge Academic Partnership

The Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia at the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University and the East Asian Institute (EAI) at the National University of Singapore, are delighted to announce a new academic collaboration.

Rajawali Semester in Review
Collage of photos taken from various Rajawali events over the semester

Feature

Rajawali Semester in Review

This past semester, the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia engaged in conversations and research on topics ranging from Indonesia’s election to US-Taiwan relations with the goal of continuing to develop policy solutions to the region’s most pressing concerns.

More on this Location

The Seven Sons of National Defense
Cover photo of the report

Occasional Paper

The Seven Sons of National Defense

In his latest occasional paper, Dan Murphy explores whether partnering with these universities is advisable given the national security implications. Murphy argues that while caution is warranted, American universities should not shy away from all potential collaborations with the Seven Sons.

A rapidly aging world – and the awaiting demographic implosion
a graph with a red arrow pointing down and several people walking down on it

Essay

A rapidly aging world – and the awaiting demographic implosion

The population is declining in more than 60 countries, in many cases dramatically. Families with one or no children are becoming increasingly common. The challenges are global, with far-reaching consequences.

The Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia and the East Asian Institute (EAI) at the National University of Singapore Forge Academic Partnership

Media Release

The Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia and the East Asian Institute (EAI) at the National University of Singapore Forge Academic Partnership

The Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia at the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University and the East Asian Institute (EAI) at the National University of Singapore, are delighted to announce a new academic collaboration.