Political Selection in China

"Institutions of political selection define whose preferences matter for the important question of who wields political power-and this substantially determines the characteristics of public officials and the quality of governance. Most fundamentally, these institutions distinguish liberal democracies from authoritarian states. Over a broad sweep of history, the evidence favors the principle of democratic elections as the selection institution that produces high governance quality (see Besley and Reynal-Querol 2011). Even so, in the contemporary world, authoritarian China presents a sophisticated and, by some measures, successful contrast to any liberal democratic version of political selection. Understanding how and how much the preferences of the few at the political center in Beijing systematically shape the composition and actions of the tens of thousands of leaders who manage Chinese politics, society, and the economy across the country is foundational to understanding China"--