The Helping Hand of the State in Chinese Real Estate Firms: Anti-corruption and Liberalization

We show that traditional western style corporate governance tools are ineffective in Chinese real estate firms by using data from 2000 to 2012. Instead, we find evidence of effective state governance, such as corruption cleanups and financial market liberalization. Specifically, firms with fewer state connections experience better performance in provinces with greater corruption prosecutions and after 2006 with accelerated stock market liberalization. Overall, our results suggest that the Chinese real estate industry is becoming more market-oriented with assistance from the state.