Rethinking critical juncture analysis: institutional change in Chinese banking and finance

China’s response to the global financial crisis and its post-2008 stimulus package and credit surge marked a critical juncture for its state-directed banking system. One result was the subsequent growth of the shadow banking sector marked by incremental ‘informal institutional adaptation’ and a greater role for markets. We employ historical institutionalist (HI) theory to help explain these developments but critique its current approach to...