Historicizing Embedded Autonomy

IF 1.3 Q3 DEVELOPMENT STUDIES Sociology of Development Pub Date : 2019-06-01 DOI:10.1525/SOD.2019.5.2.147
Zhicao Fang, Ho‑fung Hung
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引用次数: 3

Abstract

The theory of “embedded autonomy” suggests that a developmental state needs to maintain a balance between autonomy and embeddedness to succeed. This paper argues that such a balance is not stable but contingent on an alignment of local, national, and global factors. With the local developmental state of Dongguan, China, as an example, we see how the global economy's search of low-cost labor and the national government's encouragement of decentralized local growth since the 1980s created a successful, autonomous local state that was benignly embedded in a network of foreign investors and local residents. This balance brought about more than two decades of phenomenal economic growth. However, starting in 2006 both the central and provincial governments shifted their priority from economic growth to industrial upgrading. The central government also adopted a new bureaucratic rotation rule to prevent long tenure of local officials at the same locality. In these new circumstances, Dongguan found itself trapped in the short-sighted vested interests of traditional foreign investors and rentier local residents. The result was stagnation in both economic growth and industrial upgrading. The paper suggests that the reproduction of embedded autonomy cannot be taken for granted, and that embeddedness of the state at one stage of development can become a hindrance to its autonomy at another stage.
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将嵌入式自治历史化
“嵌入自主性”理论认为,一个发展状态需要在自主性和嵌入性之间保持平衡才能取得成功。本文认为,这种平衡并不稳定,而是取决于地方、国家和全球因素的一致性。以中国东莞的地方发展州为例,我们看到,自20世纪80年代以来,全球经济对低成本劳动力的寻找和国家政府对地方分权增长的鼓励,创造了一个成功的、自治的地方州,该州被善意地嵌入了外国投资者和当地居民的网络中。这种平衡带来了20多年的惊人经济增长。然而,从2006年开始,中央和省级政府都将重点从经济增长转向了产业升级。中央政府还通过了一项新的官僚轮换规则,以防止地方官员在同一地方长期任职。在这种新情况下,东莞发现自己陷入了传统外国投资者和当地居民的短视既得利益之中。其结果是经济增长和产业升级都停滞不前。本文认为,嵌入自治的再生产不能被视为理所当然,国家在一个发展阶段的嵌入性可能会成为其在另一个阶段自治的障碍。
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来源期刊
Sociology of Development
Sociology of Development Social Sciences-Development
CiteScore
1.90
自引率
8.30%
发文量
14
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