Run of the Red Queen

Government, Innovation, Globalization, and Economic Growth in China

Dan Breznitz author Michael Murphree author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Yale University Press

Published:31st May '12

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Run of the Red Queen cover

Few observers are unimpressed by the economic ambition of China or by the nation's remarkable rate of growth. But what does the future hold? This meticulously researched book closely examines the strengths and weaknesses of the Chinese economic system to discover where the nation may be headed and what the Chinese experience reveals about emerging market economies. The authors find that contrary to popular belief, cutting edge innovation is not a prerequisite for sustained economic vitality—and that China is a perfect case in point.

Won a Bronze Medal for the 2012 Axiom Business Awards in the International Business/Globalization category. This award is sponsored by the Jenkins Group

Winner of the Susan Strange Best Book Award for 2012, as given by the British International Studies Association

“In this impressive, insightful, and now essential book, Breznitz and Murphree uncover and explain how China's system of innovation fits into a world of fragmented production and a rapidly expanding technological frontier.  Our overly simplistic debates about which nations are catching up or falling behind will have to change. No one in the West will have a comprehensive understanding of the rise of China and its place in the current era of globalization until reading Run of the Red Queen.”—Rawi Abdelal, Harvard Business School

“…Highlights the hot issues from a global as well as regional dimension with very deep knowledge of China.”—Xielin Liu, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences



“Run of the Red Queen gives us the smartest view of the most important question facing Beijing's economic planners: the sustainability of Chinese growth.  The answers in Breznitz's and Murphree's important work are as intriguing as they are fresh.”—Gordon Chang, Author of The Coming Collapse of China



“…Gives us an entirely new way of thinking about innovation and economic development. By focusing on the specific kinds of innovation that flourish in China, and the institutional and geographical factors at play, Breznitz and Murphree offer a fascinating and nuanced view of how technology is developing in the world's fastest growing economy.”—Arthur Kroeber, Editor, China Economic Quarterly



“…A very valuable contribution to our understanding of the coevolution of public policy and industrial strategy in China. This penetrating study … is on my short list of must-reads of the best recent writing about innovation with Chinese characteristics.”—Song Lei, Peking University


ISBN: 9780300211955

Dimensions: 235mm x 156mm x 25mm

Weight: 454g

278 pages