Using detailed econometric analyses and national representative data, the team of international contributors identify the challenges confronting China's private enterprises and assess their performance and potential.

Shuanglin Lin is the Noddle Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, and Chair of the Department of Public Finance at Peking University. He has served as the President of the Chinese Economists' Society. His research interests include public finance and economic development.

Xiaodong Zhu is Professor of Economics at the University of Toronto and Special Term Professor at Tsinghua University. He is an editor of the China Journal of Economics and serves on the editorial boards of several other international economics journals. His research interests include economic development and macroeconomics.

1. Introduction and Overview Part 1: Financial Reforms and Enterprise Development 2. Some Thoughts on Financial Reform in Rural Areas 3. Is Public Listing a Way Out for Chinese State-owned Enterprises? 4. Financing of Private Enterprises and Deepening Financial Reform 5. Commercial Bank Regulation and Supervision: U.S. Experiences and China Implications Part 2: Private Enterprises, Efficiency, and Economic Growth 6. Private Enterprise Development and the Profitability of China's Regional SOEs 7. A Panel-data Sensitivity Analysis of Regional Growth in China 8. Private, State-owned, and Foreign-invested Enterprises: An Analysis of Investment Sources on Growth in China Part 3: Openness, Legal Protection, and Private Enterprises 9. Trade, FDI, and Productivity of China's Private Enterprises 10. The Demand and Supply of Energy in China: Implications for the Private Sector 11. Legal Protections of Administrative Regulations on Private Enterprises Part 4: Private Enterprises, Employment and Earnings 12. Policy Reforms, Private Enterprise Development and Rural Household Earnings 13. Effects of Privatization on Employment in Transitional China 14. The Effect of Education and Wage Determination in China's Rural Industry 15. Privatization and Rising Earnings Inequality in China's Rural Industries: Evidence from Shandong and Jiangsu