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Social Ties and the Selection of China's Political Elite

Author

Listed:
  • Raymond Fisman
  • Jing Shi
  • Yongxiang Wang
  • Weixing Wu

Abstract

We study how sharing a hometown or college connection with an incumbent member of China's Politburo affects a candidate's likelihood of selection as a new member. In specifications that include fixed effects to absorb quality differences across cities and colleges, we find that hometown and college connections are each associated with 5–9 percentage point reductions in selection probability. This "connections penalty" is equally strong for retiring Politburo members, arguing against quota-based explanations, and it is much stronger for junior Politburo members, consistent with a role for intra-factional competition. Our findings differ from earlier work because of our emphasis on within-group variation, and our focus on shared hometown and college, rather than shared workplace, connections.

Suggested Citation

  • Raymond Fisman & Jing Shi & Yongxiang Wang & Weixing Wu, 2020. "Social Ties and the Selection of China's Political Elite," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(6), pages 1752-1781, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:110:y:2020:i:6:p:1752-81
    DOI: 10.1257/aer.20180841
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fan, Haichao & Li, Chang & Xue, Chang & Yu, Miaojie, 2023. "Clan culture and patterns of industrial specialization in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 457-478.
    2. Yu Bai & Yanjun Li, 2022. "Political tournaments and regional growth‐enhancing policies: Evidence from Chinese prefectures," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(5), pages 1358-1385, November.
    3. Wang, Zhaoguang & Yao, Yang & Zhang, Junni, 2022. "The competence-loyalty tradeoff in China's political selection," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 369-393.
    4. Ning, Shuying & Zhang, Qi, 2022. "Hometown favoritism: Effect of environmental governance of politicians returning home," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    5. Shiyu Bo, 2021. "Environmental Regulations, Political Incentives and Local Economic Activities: Evidence from China," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(3), pages 812-835, June.
    6. Li, Sherry Xin & Wang, Shengzhe & Yang, Shuo, 2023. "What is in Local Dialects? A Field Experiment on Social Distance and Human Capital Development in Job Training," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    7. Gao, Haoyu & Ru, Hong & Tang, Dragon Yongjun, 2021. "Subnational debt of China: The politics-finance nexus," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(3), pages 881-895.
    8. Bao, Zhengyang & Huang, Difang, 2024. "Gender-specific favoritism in science," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 94-109.
    9. Xue, Chang & Zhang, Xiaoyu, 2024. "Gloomy future, gloomy sky: Promotion incentives and pollution in China," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • P26 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Property Rights
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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