scholarly journals Local alliances in rural urbanization: Land transfer in contemporary China

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Yep
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Land Development ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Rural Urbanization ◽  
High Rise ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Land Transfer ◽  
Rural Governance ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Long Term Impact

The relocation of peasants to high-rise buildings is the latest strategy deployed to feed the insatiable hunger for land in China. To free up more land for construction, Chinese peasants are encouraged to abandon their traditional homes and move into newly built high-rise modern apartments. A central feature of this distinctive form of rural urbanization is the transferability of land development rights across the rural–urban divide. Like most policy initiatives in Chinese economic reforms, variations and improvisation in implementation are found across local administrations. Such local disparities carry major implications for rural governance. This article compares and evaluates the experience of local governments in Chongqing and Nantong. Local governments in these two localities face both opportunities and constraints in integrated urban–rural development, a situation which has contributed to contrasting relocation patterns, and consequently variations in intergovernmental relationships at local levels. Enjoying the privilege of experimenting with the ‘land bill’ (地票) system, local governments in Chongqing have more leeway to stake their claims and are thus in a better position to maintain their authority. In the Nantong case, however, the more hands-on approach of the prefecture deprives lower administrative levels of flexibility to pursue their interests. This contrast in the policy process leads to different patterns of collaboration between levels of government at the grass roots in the two localities, which may also have a long-term impact on the exercise of authority at the community level.

Transfer-based decentralisation, economic growth and spatial inequality: Evidence from China’s 2002–2003 tax sharing reform

Urban Studies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 806-826
Author(s):  
Fan Fan ◽  
Ming Li ◽  
Ran Tao ◽  
Dali Yang
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Spatial Inequality ◽  
Variable Approach ◽  
Interregional Inequality ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Tax Sharing

China has adopted a transfer-based fiscal decentralisation scheme since the mid-1990s. In the 1994 tax sharing reform, the central government significantly raised its share of government revenue vis-à-vis local governments by taking most of the newly created value-added tax on manufacturing. One aim for the adoption of the transfer-based fiscal scheme was to channel more funds to less developed regions and rural areas, and to alleviate growing interregional inequality and urban–rural income disparity. In 2002 and 2003 the Chinese central government further grabbed 50% and 60%, respectively, of the income taxes previously assigned only to local governments while providing more fiscal transfers to the country’s poor regions and the countryside. Utilising the 2002–2003 change in China’s central–local tax sharing regime as an exogenous policy shock, we employ a Simulated Instrumental Variable approach to causally evaluate the effects of the policy shock on growth, interregional inequality and urban–rural disparity. We find the lower local tax share dis-incentivised local governments and led to lower growth. Although higher central transfers helped to reduce interregional inequalities in per capita GDP and per capita income, the equalising effects were only present for urban incomes. We argue that transfer-based decentralisation without bottom-up accountability was detrimental to economic growth and had limited impact on income redistribution.

Współpraca gmin obwarzankowych na płaszczyźnie gospodarczej. Zarys problemu

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 247-259
Author(s):  
Lech Jańczuk
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Rural Municipality ◽  
Research Hypothesis ◽  
Economic Level ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Rural Municipalities ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

There are “urban-rural municipalities” in Polish administration nomenclature. They are territorial units where urban and rural areas have one name and one local government. There are also urban and rural municipalities that have one name but different local governments. That neighborhood of municipalities in Polish may be described as “municipalities bagel”. The aim of this article was to investigate whether and to what extent the “municipalities bagel” cooperate (coordinate) the exercising public tasks on the economic level. The article attempts to verify the research hypothesis: in “municipalities bagel” there is a lack of coordination of the exercising public tasks”. The research method was a diagnostic survey in which the questionnaire was conducted. In December 2019, questionnaire forms were sent to all “municipalities bagel” in Poland. The results of the research indicated a lack of coordination in the performance of public tasks between “municipalities bagel”. The result is a reduction of the efficiency of performance of public duties in such municipalities. The “municipalities bagel” are functionally related areas. This link is characterized by the subordination of the interests of the rural municipality (especially economic). The development of bagel rural communes is determined by the development and cooperation with their urban counterparts.

CITY-COUNTY CONSOLIDATION AND THE (RE)CONCEPTUALISATION OF URBAN-RURAL PLANNING: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TAICHUNG CITY AND TAINAN CITY, TAIWAN

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-39
Author(s):  
Wei-Ju Huang
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Regional Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
National Level ◽  
Rural Planning ◽  
Conceptual Tool ◽  
Taichung City ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Tainan City ◽  
Planning Concepts

The Taiwanese central government views city-county consolidations as an effective method to strengthen national competitiveness and to balance regional development. But for local governments, consolidation presents a series of planning challenges, especially in relation to the reconstruction of planning concepts and discourses in their new territories. Aiming to understand the process, this study first proposes a typology of regional planning concepts as a conceptual tool to explore whether and how the consolidated governments (re)construct their urban-rural planning concepts, and then it examines the factors that may influence (re)conceptualisation through a comparative study of Taichung City and Tainan City. The research results show that overemphasis on using the concept of competitive city regionalism to balance regional development at the national level may lead to a widening of rural-urban disparities at regional and local levels.

Urban-Rural Synergy in Shrinking Regions Through Application of e-co Model

2020 ◽  
pp. 335-360
Author(s):  
Tijana M. Vujičić ◽  
Dijana Simonović
Keyword(s):  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Alternative Model ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Rural Urbanization ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Shrinking Regions ◽  
Northwest Region

Many regions worldwide are faced with the problem of shrinkage, manifested through demographic decline, economic loss, and perforation of the urban tissue. Starting from the assumption that the shrinking phenomenon is present in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the research deals with the diagnosis of the shrinking condition in urban and rural areas of the northwest region of the country. In the light of the shrinkage problems, the chapter defines a new alternative model—e-co—which should enable the recovery from the crisis and restore the vitality of the region. The chance for recovery is recognized in the processes of rural urbanization and urban ruralization, the integration of rural values and urban advantages, the modern globality, and traditional locality.

scholarly journals Rural urbanization under Xi Jinping: From rapid community building to steady urbanization?

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Meyer-Clement
Keyword(s):  
Rural Community ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Community Building ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
Policy Learning ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Xi Jinping ◽  
Rural Land ◽  
Rural Urbanization

‘Rural community building’ is one of the most prominent policies of rural urbanization and village renovation in China. Since the nationwide implementation of this policy within the scope of the programme ‘Building a new socialist countryside’, the large-scale construction of new residential complexes has accelerated the transformation of the country’s rural landscape. However, extensive demolition and relocation have drawn increasing criticism, and the policy has become synonymous with the seizure of rural land resources by local governments. When Xi Jinping came to power, the new leadership initially appeared to abandon the policy but has eventually revived it. This article studies the implementation and evolution of the rural community building policy as a case of policy learning. The analysis of national and local policy documents and implementation practices in four provinces highlights a new framing of the policy, more intensive hierarchical controls over rural land use, and the state’s increasing reach into village governance, as well as new incentives for local governments to continue with demolition and relocation projects. These changes reveal a mode of policy learning in the context of an authoritarian regime whose goal is to improve policy implementation in the face of growing public criticism and social tension.

The policy implementation strategies of county cadres: Political instrument and flexible local governance

2020 ◽  
pp. 0920203X2096823
Author(s):  
Gang Tian ◽  
Wen-Hsuan Tsai
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
The Political ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Political Risks

Using the concept of ‘hedging’, we explore how local cadres in China deviate from central policies in order to serve local interests and, while doing so, avoid being called to account by their superiors. Political signals enable cadres to decide when to invest more resources into the implementation of certain policies. In this way, they optimize their performance and avoid the political risks involved in failing to carry out their designated tasks. This article uses county Y as an example in a discussion of county-level implementation of policies related to economic growth and air pollution control. We find that local cadres weaken the functions of the superior ‘special inspection team’ (专项督察组, hereafter inspection team), treating them as political instruments used by the central and local authorities to ensure a greater level of responsiveness at the grass roots. Information concerning the imminent arrival of an inspection team in their locality acts as a signal for cadres to allocate more resources to the enforcement of air pollution control measures, thus maximizing their performance in this area. Through this research, we have endeavoured to provide a deeper understanding of the operating logic of Chinese local governments and the behaviour of county cadres.

scholarly journals Fiscal Behavior Volatility, Economic Growth, and Urban-Rural Income Disparity

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-225
Author(s):  
Yufeng Wang ◽  
Shulin Liu
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Financial Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Economic Transition ◽  
Income Disparity ◽  
Dynamic Panel Model ◽  
Rural Income ◽  
Panel Model ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Fiscal Behavior

AbstractFiscal behavior of local governments has great volatility in China, especially in the period of economic transition. This paper estimates fiscal behavior volatility by making regression analysis of panel data of 30 provinces from 1994 to 2011. Then we establish a dynamic panel model to study the direct and indirect impact of the fiscal behavior volatility on the urban-rural income disparity. Empirical results show that urban-rural income disparity has nonlinear relationship with economic growth and financial development and that fiscal behavior volatility expands the urban-rural income disparity directly and indirectly. The larger fiscal behavior volatility comes greater urban-rural income disparity. We also find that the urban-rural income disparity is further enlarged through dual economic structure. If one of the economic growth and financial development is fixed, the other one has an inverted U-shaped relationship with urban-rural income disparity.

Accomplishing Access Management on the Florida Intrastate Highway System: US-19 Highway Corridor Experience

2003 ◽  
Vol 1858 (1) ◽  
pp. 142-147
Author(s):  
Jeffrey H. Kramer ◽  
Kristine M. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Land Development ◽  
Management Decision ◽  
Access Management ◽  
Efficient Operation ◽  
Management Decision Making ◽  
Improve Access ◽  
Highway System

The Florida intrastate highway system (FIHS) is the network of state roads intended to carry the bulk of the state’s high-speed and high-volume traffic movements. Comprising only 3% of the state’s roads, the FIHS carries 32% of all traffic and 70% of truck traffic on the state highway system. However, the safe and efficient operation of the FIHS is in jeopardy. The system faces ever increasing levels of congestion and delay and a projected 20-year shortfall of $ 29 billion for needed capacity improvements. Given the lack of funding for needed capacity improvements, the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT) is turning to alternative strategies to preserve the operational integrity and safety of the system. Among these strategies is access management. The application of access management techniques on the FIHS is complicated, and sometimes undermined, by the separation of land use decision-making authority (controlled by local governments) and roadway decision-making authority (controlled by Florida DOT). To improve access management decision making on the FIHS, Florida DOT has begun to explain the overall benefits of access management to local governments and to coordinate the land development and road-way decision-making processes. Summarized is an effort to improve access management decision-making practices on a 10-mi corridor of US-19 in rural Levy County, an important north–south component of the FIHS.

scholarly journals Empirical Analysis of the Driving Factors of China’s ‘Land Finance’ Mechanism Using Soft Budget Constraint Theory and the PLS-SEM Model

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinhua Zhu ◽  
Yigang Wei ◽  
Yani Lai ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Sujuan Zhong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Budget Constraint ◽  
Driving Factors ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Soft Budget Constraint ◽  
Land Transfer ◽  
Constraint Theory

“Land finance” refers to the key fiscal strategy in which local governments in China generate revenue through land grant premiums and land tax revenues. A burgeoning body of literature has focused on the driving factors of China’s land finance from different aspects including fiscal decentralization, revenue decentralization, competition among local governments, land marketization, infrastructure development, and economic development. However, little research has provided a comprehensive perspective integrating social, economic and institutional aspects to investigate the driving forces of these unique and profound issues in China. This study aims to investigate the driving factors and working mechanism of land finance. A theoretical and empirical model was proposed using soft budget constraint theory and least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The panel data of 35 Chinese major cities were assessed between 2006 and 2015. The empirical results contend the following: (1) the land transfer and fiscal systems provide the key impetus for land financing because the land transfer system forms a stable modality, and the fiscal system is an important incentive for land financing; (2) the effects of the economic development and political system are insignificant; and (3) the political and land systems significantly influence economic development. Our contributions focus on two aspects. Firstly, a comprehensive framework of factors germane to land finance is constructed. Secondly, a new research methodology for land use study is proposed. To the best of our knowledge, the current study is the first to employ the PLS-SEM method to delineate and verify the influence paths between multiple driving factors and land finance in different cities. Hence, research reliability can be improved.

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