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Hutong Economics.....China Business?

By Dan Harris and Steve Dickinson

I am in the middle of a post on why the Chinese drywall cases are no big deal but I can't seem to get out of my head a very short post over at Letter From China. The post is entitled "Hutong Economics," and it very briefly (I know I earlier already described it as "very short") discusses the opening and closing of a tiny Beijing food stand, all within an eight week span. I can't get it out of my head because I am convinced there is some conclusion to be drawn from this post, yet I keep coming up empty. Does this reveal the impatience of Chinese businesspeople? Does it show that what is true of the United States is also true of China, that small businesses frequently fail because they are undercapitalized? Does it show that it takes more than eight weeks for a business to garner a reputation and to thrive? Why do you suppose "Letter From China" (conspiracy anyone?) failed to reveal the quality of the food produced at this stand and how much of a factor was this in its failure to thrive? As always, comments welcome....

Full post as published by China Law Blog on April 21, 2009 (boomark / email).