Nis Grünberg

Presentation

Grounded in Western and Chinese political and political economic theory, my current research focuses on China''s central State-owned enterprises (owned by the national state) in the energy sector, and especially their prevalent organization as large business groups. Goal is to illuminate the mix of political and economic missions these large groups have, being both for-profit, and at the same time strategic pillars of China''s socioeconomic development. Being  tightly integrated with the party-state, the central SOEs also  increasingly hold significant political power. This has led to several issues regarding monopolies, hidden subsidies, rent-seeking, and ownership. My current project seeks to map the institutional development of central SOEs, to illuminate the nexus of party-state and business, and to further our understanding of the politically well-integrated Chinese form of the business group (qiye jituan), not least in the light of international theory of business groups and political economics.

Primary research areas

• China''s political economy
• State-owned enterprises and business groups (企业集团)
• Party-state-business relations, social networks, lobbying
• Public sector reform and development, policy-making processes
• Energy politics and institutions