Book review: China’s gilded age: the paradox of economic boom and vast corruption by Yuen Yuen Ang

In China’s Gilded Age: The Paradox of Economic Boom and Vast Corruption, Yuen Yuen Ang examines China’s growth trajectory through the prism of corruption, challenging the notion of Chinese exceptionalism when it comes to corruption by comparing its rise to the growth of the US in the nineteenth century. This sophisticated and nuanced analysis will encourage readers to look beyond the usual cliches surrounding corruption and offers a comprehensive framework for studying the political economy of inequality and development, writes Diego Castañeda Garza. This book review has been translated into Spanish by Diego Castañeda Garza. Please scroll down to read this translation. If you would like to read other LSE RB reviews in Spanish, as well as in Mandarin and German, please visit the LSE Reviews in Translation page, a collaboration between LSE Language Centre and LSE Review of Books. China’s Gilded Age: The Paradox of Economic Boom and Vast Corruption. Yuen Yuen Ang. Cambridge University Press. 2020.