Informal Finance in China: American and Chinese Perspectives

by Jianjun Li, Sara Hsu

Overview

Informal finance consists of nonbank financing activities, whether conducted through family and friends, local money houses, or other types of financial associations. It has provided much-needed financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in particular, in the face of a tightly constrained and overburdened formal banking system. Unable to obtain a bank loan, firms have relied upon individuals and informal organizations outside of the banking system to obtain financing for their ventures or working capital (operating funds). Presently there is a scarcity of information on informal finance in China and it is expected to have a significant impact upon GDP and money supply.

This book, with contributions from leading scholars, describes the evolution, characteristics, and variation of informal finance in China from American and Chinese perspectives. Literature by Jiang Shuxia, Jiang Xuzhao, and Li Jianjun has heretofore been available only in Chinese, while work by Kellee Tsai, Jianwen Liao, Harold Welsch, David Pistrui, and Sara Hsu has been available in English. For the first time, they come together to discuss informal financing and its many aspects.

Most of the essays are based upon original survey research conducted locally, as this type of data is not normally collected by the government. The papers pioneer the description and analysis of the nuances of informal finance from several perspectives; the authors look at the social, cultural, political, and economic causes of informal finance, its many variations, and its economic, personal, and political ramifications.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195380644
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/24/2009
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Jianjun Li is Professor of Finance at Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, China. He has published seven books and one hundred papers on informal finance, monetary policy, banking performance measurement, financial crisis, financial reform, and liberalization.

Sara Hsu is Visiting Assistant Professor at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Her areas of interest include development economics, China's economy, informal finance, and international economics.

Editorial Reviews

Informal financing has long caught the attention of academic circles as well as the wide public. However, the lack of in-depth and comprehensive study of the issue is as obvious as the phenomenon itself. Fortunately, this book now offers us an adequate and accurate analysis of the Chinese informal financing, by empirically tracing its evolution alongside the unfolding of the overall economic reform, and formulating theories based on actual cases from the field. The accomplishments of the book also owe a lot to the co-editors from both China and the United States, whose reputable contribution will certainly be appreciated by readers of this milestone work.”

—Yejing Huang, Associate Research Professor, Institute of World Economy, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

From the Publisher