This article aims to explain the emigration of wealthy Chinese citizens after the 2012 political leadership change, with reference to Hirschman’s model. It builds on the concepts of loyalty and exit in the context of an authoritarian regime with rapid economic growth, to offer insights into the self-declared reasons behind the emigration of these people from China. Based on evidence from 25 semi-structured interviews conducted in 2021 with Chinese emigrants, the analysis outlines the intricate interplay between economic opportunities and the level of control within an authoritarian regime as a cause for emigration.
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Chau et al. (2024) studied this question.
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