This book analyzes why local officials in China comply with investment-reduction and inflation-control policies of the central government against their own economic interests. The book shows the importance of political institutions, and provides a political story as to why China has been able to control inflation and to deepen reforms, in contrast to the former Soviet Union. While most other studies focus on the economic or political aspects, Inflation and Investment Controls in China integrates political and economic analysis.

This book about China's integration into the world economy proposes a radically different perspective. Most economists view China's large foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows as the result of China's economic success. This study views the same phenomenon as a function of the imperfections in the Chinese economic system. It uses economic theory to explain FDI to a greater extent than previous studies on the same topic. It also presents comparative FDI data of additional countries, making it more comprehensive than previous studies which focused only on China.