%0 Journal Article
%T Risky Investments: How Local and Foreign Investors Finesse Corruption
%A Kimberly Kay Hoang
%J American Sociological Review
%@ 1939-8271
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/0003122418782476
%X How do investors enter and navigate markets where there is a general lack of access to information and where the law is open to interpretation? Drawing on interview data with 100 research subjects in Vietnam¡¯s real estate market, this article makes contributions to the literatures of economic sociology and development. First, looking at a diverse set of local, regional, and global investors, I theorize how market actors pursue different strategies to manage risky investments based on their proximity to state officials. Investors¡¯ proximity depends on four processes: legal/regulatory, social ties, cultural matching, and stage of investment. Second, I highlight how multiple state¨Cmarket relations can coexist within the same state. Investors¡¯ varying levels of proximity to government officials shape their relationship with the state as one of patronage (predatory), mutual destruction (mutual hostage), or transparency (developmental). Heterogeneous state¨Cmarket relations help account for the persistence of foreign direct investment in markets that display both a great deal of corruption and a great deal of legality and transparency
%K economic sociology
%K development
%K globalization
%K law
%K emerging markets
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0003122418782476