The author's simplistic view of corruption is that all politicians and government officials-like everyone else-are constrained self-maximizers. They therefore establish or maintain regulations and controls with the intent to facilitate corruption, which then becomes a source of income for them....

With assistance from government officials and friends in the People's Republic of China, and from others, the author has been able to gather rare information on developments in that country. Five years ago, he predicted that China would move toward a system akin to one with private property...

Hong Kong's role has been integral to China's unprecedented economic growth, but privatization ranks first in importance. Another key factor is Beijing's putting economic reform before political reform. Giving democracy to a society in chaos likely makes matters worse. Hong Kong and China both...