Introduction : privatizing China : powers of the self, socialism from afar / Aihwa Ong and Li Zhang -- Private homes, distinct lifestyles : performing a new middle class / Li Zhang -- Property rights and homeowner activism in new neighborhoods / Benjamin L. Read -- Socialist land masters : the...

We provide the first test of the Hoff and Stiglitz (2004) model predicting whether and under what conditions mass privatizations are accompanied by asset stripping. In addition to directly testing the theory, we also tackle an important policy-oriented issue of why a large number of efficient...