The Theory of Disinterested Governments

This element proposes the theory of disinterested governments to explain China's economic ascent. A disinterested government is a government that neither represents, nor is captured by the interests of any social groups. It is more likely than a biased government to avoid allocative inefficiency and increase output. A theoretical model of coalition formation finds that a more politically equal society is more likely to produce a disinterested government. Empirical evidence shows that the Chinese government has behaved in a disinterested fashion in the reform era. Social equality established by a series of social transformations has been identified as the cause for Chinese government's acting in a disinterested fashion in the reform era. Cross-country case studies and regression analysis have established a chain of causality running from political equality to the inclusive (disinterested) state, and then to faster economic growth. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.