Centralisation will curtail China’s adaptability

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Central Government ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Economic Reforms ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Xi Jinping ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Policy Experimentation ◽  
Local Officials

Subject The negative consequences of policy centralisation in China. Significance Policy experimentation at the local level has played a key role in China’s economic reforms and the Communist Party’s regime durability. However, it has decreased significantly under President Xi Jinping, due largely to a recentralisation of political power and the ongoing anti-corruption campaign. Impacts Individual policymakers will still implement policies tailored to the local environment and potentially contradictory to central directives. Local officials will be inclined to conceal innovative policies and solutions from the central government. Despite centralisation, foreign organisations are most likely to succeed in China if they engage at the local level.

Reconfiguring Local Authority Through Land Reform

2021 ◽  
pp. 80-103
Author(s):  
Alice Beban
Keyword(s):  
Land Reform ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local State ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Land Distribution ◽  
Multiple Strategies ◽  
Land Titling ◽  
Land Survey ◽  
Local Officials

This chapter shows how the land titling reform worked to wrest power away from local-level officials into the hands of the central government. It talks about local officials that managed to amass land by clearing forest in expectation of the land reform, while in other areas local people mobilized to prevent the elite's capture of the reform and produce new relationships with local officials. It also examines the relationships between local state officials and their constituencies during the Order 01 land reform. The chapter reviews the leopard skin land reform, which can be seen as the prime minister's attempt to wrest control over land distribution from local authorities in upland areas. It analyzes the rural people's narratives that suggest multiple strategies local authorities and other elites used to grab land, such as clearing forestland in advance of the land survey.

scholarly journals National-Local Networks and Immigration Governance

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-376
Author(s):  
Jill L. Tao
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Local Autonomy ◽  
Local Networks ◽  
Local Officials ◽  
The Impact

The ability to regulate the flow of goods, capital and people across borders is one of the defining characteristics of nation-state political power. But there is not always agreement between the central government and local officials as to the desirability of immigration, where local governments may desire greater, or fewer, numbers of immigrants, depending on the local economy and labor needs. In South Korea, a unitary form of government offers an opportunity to examine the policy distance between the national government’s stance on immigration based on the politics of the ruling party, and the attitudes of local officials who work for metropolitan-level governments (those with a population of one million or more). I look at the impact of local economic market needs on local attitudes towards national immigration policy through the lens of intergovernmental relations and Lipsky’s concept of bureaucratic discretion. Comparing two cases drawn from local governments in South Korea with dissimilar economic bases but similar levels of local autonomy, I find that economic needs at the local level are addressed by local approaches to immigration policy. Contrary to expectations, the cases illustrate the relative importance of fiscal autonomy and a new understanding for political autonomy. These cases illustrate the need for caution when applying political and institutional theory within new contexts and offer new variables for future investigations of local autonomy.

Local resistance will thwart reforms in China

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Limited Capacity ◽  
Local Resistance ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Administrative Reforms ◽  
Political Contention ◽  
Wealth Redistribution ◽  
Major Progress

Subject Political contention between central and local government. Significance The central government has identified a set of reforms to address China's structural economic and social problems, but it faces a challenge ensuring compliance. Even if the Xi administration manages to silence political opponents in the top echelons, a greater challenge lies on the front line of policy implementation, at the county and township levels where silent non-implementation and policy distortion threaten the outcome of the reforms. Impacts Beijing has limited capacity to monitor local cadres; major progress is likely only on reforms singled out as national priorities. Political and administrative reforms and environmental policies have the brightest prospects for local implementation. Financial reform, wealth redistribution and marketisation of local-level state-owned enterprises will be more challenging.

Devolution offers rewards in Egypt, but may be gradual

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Local Administration ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Democratic Reform ◽  
Job Opportunities

Subject The Local Administration Draft Law. Significance A new Local Administration Draft Law is currently being discussed in parliament to replace the existing legislation, dating from 1979. The capacity of local government to carry out various developmental functions has long been undermined by the centralised political and fiscal system. The new law, however, aims to give broader powers to subnational authorities. The law is meant to pave the way for local elections, scheduled for the first quarter of 2019. Impacts The central government will use local elections to boost its popularity and demonstrate commitment to democratic reform. The application of the new law will increase competition among local government units to attract private investment. The local economy will grow in areas where councillors can ease the process of doing business and decrease bureaucracy. More job opportunities will be created at the local level.

Nordic local government: a success story, but will it last?

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arto Haveri
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Success Story ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cumulative Process

Purpose – The Nordic narrative on local government highlights municipalities’ role in social consumption, a model, which is often considered a success story. The purpose of this paper is to apply Gerry Stoker’s (2011) theory on local government roles in society to critically analyse the sustainability of the Nordic model. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on literature review, documents and statistics of Nordic public authorities’, the author formulates exploratory theoretical propositions on the sustainability of the Nordic model of local government. Findings – The emphasis placed on welfare task has made Nordic local government overloaded and vulnerable to central government intervention and reforms, resulting in a cumulative process towards an ever narrowing conception of local government. Research limitations/implications – The research results are exploratory. Comparative empirical research is needed to verify the idea. Social implications – The legitimacy of Nordic local government may be challenged because of municipalities’ weakening possibilities to discharge their welfare role in a manner that would satisfy citizens’ growing needs. Originality/value – The paper is a critical analyses of the sustainability of local government system in Nordic countries. It discusses the possible negative consequences of the overemphasis of the welfare role of local government.

Leadership reshuffle will steer China's path

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Policy ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Xi Jinping ◽  
Major Party ◽  
Standing Committee ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Party Congress

Subject Leadership politics in China. Significance Xi Jinping seems to have monopolised political power, but he must still heed the voices of other major Party factions and Party elders. In October or November next year will come the next five-yearly Party Congress, the most important event on China's political calendar, which will endorse personnel changes in the top leadership. Manoeuvring for positions has already begun. Impacts Xi's proteges are not generally reform-oriented, so if they predominate, this will weigh against economic liberalisation. Promotion of Wang Yang to the Politburo Standing Committee would indicate openness to both power-sharing and reform. Appointment of Zhou Qiang to the Politburo could mean a subtler approach to legal affairs or anti-corruption. Promotion of aerospace expert Zhang Qingwei would place priority on industrial policy.

China moves towards presidential-style leadership

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Leadership Succession ◽  
Xi Jinping ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Elite Politics ◽  
Leadership Transitions ◽  
Presidential Style

Subject Elite politics in China. Significance The Communist Party's 'Sixth Plenum' meeting in October focused on how President Xi Jinping controls the party bureaucracy and how central government controls local government. Xi's appointment as 'core leader' suggests further shifts away from consensus-based cabinet governance towards a presidential style. Impacts Established party rules of leadership succession, which regulate factional conflict among hundreds of senior officials, will be corroded. Future leadership transitions may be contested by a larger and older group of officials. More intense politics may distract the party from the business of government. There is some evidence of dissonance in the party regarding these changes but this does not threaten Xi's position.

Affordable housing policy development: public official perspectives

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 934-951
Author(s):  
Xiang Cai ◽  
Wei-Ning Wu
Keyword(s):  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Housing Policy ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Intergovernmental Relations ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Housing Policies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Officials

Purpose This paper aims to examine the factors affecting the implementation of affordable housing policies in two Chinese municipal governments. Since 2010, the Chinese government has enforced an ambitious plan to adopt affordable housing provisions accompanying a series of urbanization programs. Furthermore, the policy implementation at the local level has led to various outcomes but has been scarcely investigated. The views of policy implementation from local officials are crucial in the context of intergovernmental relations. Therefore, it is important to examine the views of local public officials on the development status and challenges in the context of Chinese intergovernmental relations. Design/methodology/approach This paper verifies which factors exert significant impacts on the willingness of local officials to adapt affordable housing policies by using the logistic regression model and marginal effect estimation. With original data from the fieldwork surveys of city administrators, the measures incorporated local characteristics as well as the intergovernmental support from the central government in two selected megacities, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Findings There are significant differences in local investment between the selected cities. Intergovernmental support from the central government, city development strategies, implementation perceptions of local governments and land supply, all significantly impact the selection of an affordable housing program and its overall implementation. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ understanding, this study would be one of the first to empirically explore the view of municipal public officials on affordable housing policy in China. This paper provides an empirical analysis from municipal public officials on the local implementation of affordable housing policies in China. As the outcome of housing policies actually depends on the implementation willingness of public officials and the overall performance of local governments, this explorative study would benefit the future development of China’s affordable housing policy.

Public leadership: motivated by values not bonuses

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su Maddock
Keyword(s):  
Public Services ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Transformative Leadership ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Executive Leaders ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Leadership ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Uk

PurposeTurbulent times are here to stay and public leadership needs to become less managerial, more adept at harnessing resources and transforming governance. While the media continues to search for heroic leaders there is a growing awareness that there is more to public leadership than charisma and that compliant leaders do little to nurture innovation. The purpose of this paper is to address the varying concepts of leadership within public services in the UK.Design/methodology/approachThis paper addresses the varying concepts of leadership within public services in the UK and offers a comparative discussion on these choices of types of leadership.FindingsEvidence shows that successful public leaders tend to motivated by social values rather than money and that in the UK, transformative leadership is stronger at the local level than in central government, where although embryonic, political and executive leaders are forging platforms for innovation and new governance systems that central governments could learn from.Originality/valueThere are examples of exemplary public leadership in the UK and this paper attempts to unpack where these are, how they challenge existing leadership thinking and why new forms of leadership are critical at this time.

China-US trade talks will likely see minimal changes

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Lead Time ◽  
Economic Reforms ◽  
Economic Pressure ◽  
Xi Jinping ◽  
The South ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Competition

Significance Washington suspects Meng of connection with efforts to violate US sanctions on Iran, something her side denies. Despite the long lead-time (with an August 22 warrant issued) and the arrest’s importance for US-Chinese relations, US officials maintain that President Donald Trump knew nothing of the arrest when he met China’s President Xi Jinping on December 1 in Argentina. Both leaders agreed that evening to enter a 90-day negotiation to avert further US tariffs on Chinese exports. Impacts The South China Sea will be a space for further US-China competition and tension. US-China strategic competition will rise in the South Pacific, bringing stronger US-Australia-Papua New Guinea cooperation. Prospects for US-China talks’ success is modest; more tariffs and constraints on Chinese tech and US investments are likely. US economic pressure on China could provide Xi ‘cover’ to introduce less popular economic reforms if he wishes to.

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