CORRUPTION AND MARKET REFORM IN CHINA

Corruption in China, in various forms, has expanded along with and as a consequence of market reforms. Rent-seeking explanations are insuffi cient in explaining this link, which must also consider changes in the nature of the politico-administrative system, shifts in social values , and the changing structural context of opportunity demand and impuni ty. Rather than reducing corruption, market reforms have not only incr eased it but have established a new type of relationship between offic ials and an emerging business elite which may well perpetuate the phen omenon over the longer term.