Financializing Chinese cities: state–capital nexus and the uneven geography of housing speculation. Issue 4 (2nd October 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lin, George C.S.; Smart, A.; Li, X.; Hu, Fox Z.Y.
• Is Part Of: Area development and policy. Volume 4:Issue 4(2019)
• Page Start: 435
• Page End: 453
• Publication Date: 2019-10-02
• Subjects: urbanization -- political economy -- land and housing markets -- financialization -- Chinese cities; E02 -- O16 -- O18 -- R30 -- R58; 城市化； -- 政治经济； -- 土地和住房市场； -- 金融化； -- 中国城市; urbanización -- economía política -- mercados inmobiliarios y de bienes raíces -- financialización -- ciudades chinas; урбанизация -- политическая экономия -- рынки земли и жилья -- финансиализация -- китайские города; Regional planning -- BRIC countries -- Periodicals; Economic development -- BRIC countries -- Periodicals; Rural-urban relations -- BRIC countries -- Periodicals; Human geography -- BRIC countries -- Periodicals; Regional planning -- Developing countries -- Periodicals; Economic development -- Developing countries -- Periodicals; Rural-urban relations -- Periodicals; Human geography -- Developing countries -- Periodicals; 338.90091724
• DOI: 10.1080/23792949.2019.1625277
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2379-2949

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Current enquiries into the transformation of cities from 'growth' to 'debt machines' are largely based on studies of selected European and American cities where municipal governments temporally repackaged and rescheduled current fiscal problems by selling off city futures. This study of a recent episode of housing speculation in urban China identifies a distinctive trajectory in which the state has reshuffled financial resources sectorally and spatially. A misallocation of resources into the real estate sector and into a few top-tier cities fuelled a speculative housing market in a context of slowing economic growth. In contrast to external and horizontal public–private partnerships in American cities, coalitions of speculative urbanism in China involved vertical and hierarchical relationships internal to state power. This research calls for a broadened theoretical attention to the changing and variegated nature of the interrelationships between state, capital and space.