Examines how the private sector in China manages to grow without secure property rights.

Yue Hou is Assistant Professor in the Political Science department at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests include political economy and authoritarian politics, with a regional focus on China. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Politics, the Journal of Experimental Political Science, Quarterly Journal of Political Science, and Social Science Quarterly, and has been featured in the New York Times and the Boston Review. She also writes articles for Chinese media outlets including the Southern Weekly and Tencent ipress.

1. Introduction; 2. Selective property rights; 3. Private entrepeneurs in legislative office; 4. Motivations to run; 5. Protection from predation; 6. Legislator status and political capital; 7. Conclusion.