Restructuring Industrial Districts, Scaling Up Regional Development: A Study of the Wenzhou Model, China

New Wenzhou: Migration, metropolitan spatial development and modernity in a third-tier Chinese model city

“…P. L. Liu, 1992;Kristen Parris, 1993;Wei, 2007 These products were mostly traded to neighboring countries by sea, such as Japan, Korea and Cambodia. Moreover, Wenzhounese became highly mobile and skilled in long-distance trade, which enabled Wenzhou to sustain larger population than its geography and natural situation would have allowed (A. P. L. Liu, 1992).…”

“…The essence of the "Wenzhou model" is a system of production that is centered on family enterprises and embedded in thick local institutions (Forster, 1990;A. P. L. Liu, 1992;Kristen Parris, 1993;Wei, 2007). These local economic, social and cultural institutions were forged in Wenzhou's historical success as a trading center.…”

“…At the same time, Mao's preference for collectivization and socialist enterprises required Wenzhounese to stay put and farm. However, arable land in 33 the mountainous Wenzhou region is scarce, with only 17 percent of the total territory in plains; per capita arable land is 0.02 ha which is one third of national average (Wei, 2007). Wenzhou was not able to sustain its growing population.…”

“…This economic reform, based on Wenzhou's traditional local institutions, became one of the most prominent influences on urban and regional development patterns in China (Tomba, 1999;Wei, 2007Wei, , 2009Wei, , 2011R. Zhang, 1994;Z.…”

Institutional Change and Regional Development in China: The Case of Commodity Trading Markets

“…By the mid-1990s, the TVEs had been partially privatized through the creation of joint stock companies in which individuals, households and local governments became shareholders (Mukherjee and Zhang, 2007). During this process of rural industrialisation, many small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) emerged in towns and cities within the coastal regions of South and East China (Zhai, 2005;Wei et al, 2007). In the 1980s and 1990s, within these regions, one may observe the emergence of three distinct paths or models of regional development, the "Pearl River Delta Model" (Guangdong province, South China), the "Sunan Model"(Jiangsu province, East China) and the "Wenzhou Model" (Zhejiang province, East China) (Yang, 2007;Guo and Feng, 2009;Wei, 2010).…”