Return Migration, Entrepreneurship and Local State Corporatism in Rural China: The experience of two counties in south Jiangxi

Returned migrants in the counties of Xinfeng and Yudu in south Jiangxi are introducing a capitalist dynamic to their natal communities and this is changing the nature of the local state. Local cadres harness the resources generated though return migration and direct them towards broader development goals, for example the construction of rural industries and towns. At the same time, returnees use their urban experiences and resources to engage with the local state in ways that promote changes to the local policy environment and infrastructure, making the natal communities more conducive to business. The dynamic role of returnees as agents of information transfer, entrepreneurship and change is particularly important given that, owing to previous restrictions on mobility, rural localities have been isolated from wider market and information linkages.