Local Governance: Bureaucratic Entrepreneurs

This chapter highlights the significant role local governments play in building a welcoming, business-friendly city environment that can better advance technological innovation and entrepreneurship. Experimental and entrepreneurial culture in Shenzhen influences local bureaucrats, while local government officials play a critical role in further encouraging and supporting Shenzhen’s technological innovation. Institutional capacity matters in both macro and micro governmental management. Shenzhen local officials not only attract foreign investment, but also effectively collaborate with inland cities in China. This chapter challenges stereotypical understandings of Chinese local government officials as dull and rigid. Instead, this chapter describes how bureaucratic entrepreneurs contribute to Shenzhen’s city and technological development since its genesis.