Boston College International and Comparative Law Review Volume 39 | Issue 2 Article 4 8-11-2016 Law and Finance: The aC se of Stock Market Development in China Zhong Zhang University of Sheffield,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr Part of the Banking and Finance Law Commons, Commercial Law Commons, Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, and the Law and Politics Commons Recommended Citation Zhong Zhang, Law and Finance: The Case of Stock Market Development in China, 39 B.C. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 283 (2016), http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr/vol39/iss2/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston College International and Comparative Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. LAW AND FINANCE: THE CASE OF STOCK MARKET DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA * ZHONG ZHANG Abstract: Having grown to one of the largest in the world in just over two decades, China’s stock market is cited as a counterexample to the sig- nificance of law for financial market development. A thorough examination of the development of China’s stock market, however, finds that law is ac- tually critical to sustaining growth. On the other hand, the trajectory of de- velopment in China is growth first followed by law, and the improvement of law is caused by market growth. The experience of China suggests that law and market growth exhibit a bidirectional rather than unidirectional causal relationship, and the course of development is “growth-law-further growth.” Nevertheless, this virtuous cycle is not a guarantee and market growth may not lead to stronger law in all instances, as evidenced by the fact that, alt- hough now better protected from market abuse, Chinese investors remain vulnerable to serious managerial misconduct at listed state-owned enterpris- es.