Asymmetrical Attribution of Performance in China

Asian Survey ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 978-1003
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Chen Chen ◽  
Jun Xiang

Existing studies of the impact of economic development on political trust in China have two major gaps: they fail to explain how economic development contributes to the hierarchical trust pattern, and they do not pay enough attention to the underlying mechanisms. In light of cultural theory and political control theory, we propose adapting performance theory into a theory of “asymmetrical attribution of performance” to better illuminate the case of China. This adapted theory leads to dual pathway theses: expectation fulfillment and local blaming. Using a multilevel mediation model, we show that expectation fulfillment mainly upholds trust in the central government, whereas local blaming undermines trust in local governments. We also uncover a rural–urban distinction in the dual pathway, revealing that both theses are more salient among rural Chinese.

2021 ◽  
Vol 233 ◽  
pp. 01152
Author(s):  
Gu Jijian

China's economic development is disconnected, not only between local governments, but also the local and the central government. Because of the performance appraisal and the status quo of political power structure, grassroots governments and local interest groups must be closely connected, and at the same time, they also form an alliance with the local bank branches that did not belong to any of the above branches, forming a trilateral conspiratorial economic development model. This model has far-reaching and perilous impacts on local economic development.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232198895
Author(s):  
Makoto Kuroki ◽  
Keiko Ishikawa ◽  
Kiyoshi Yamamoto

Accompanying the spread of “new public management” since the 1980s, accrual accounting and results-based management has become a global standard. However, whether accrual accounting results in successful outcomes and which drivers lead to the intended impacts of the reform have been contested. Given the mixed arguments in the literature, we set out two research questions: (1) “Have public sector organizations realized any positive impacts on management practices by adopting mandatory accrual accounting?”; and (2) “What are the primary drivers of such impacts?” To answer these questions, we examine the impact on management practices by analyzing a survey to ascertain how financial department officers in Japanese local governments perceive the benefits of adopting mandatory accrual accounting on management practices. The results indicate that they have so far not recognized the intended benefits, though they had expected higher benefits in internal control. Then, we use technical-rational, socio-political, and institutional isomorphic perspectives in a comprehensive approach to understand the impacts on management practices. The logistic analysis shows that financial managers in local governments that do not have a majority party in the assembly, but consist of several parties in power, as well as in those with greater financial dependence on the central government, perceive higher benefits. Further, we find that financial managers that imitate other local governments as a form of mimetic pressure perceive fewer benefits. The results show that some technical-rational tools, socio-political conditions, and institutional pressures change the perceived benefits for public managers of adopting mandatory accrual accounting. Points for practitioners We find that some technical-rational, socio-political, and institutional factors explain the intended internal benefits of the mandatory adoption of accrual accounting. In practice, financial managers in local government feel the merits of accrual accounting in less autonomy in not only politics, but also finance, and few mimetic conditions. It might be understood that difficult situations would drive practitioners to use mandatory information.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 141
Author(s):  
Trust Madhovi

This paper examines the impact of social accountability mechanisms on the fiscal management challenges facing local government bodies in Zimbabwe. The paper hypothesises that there is a positive relationship between the use of social accountability mechanisms or tools by local authorities and the effectiveness of their fiscal management policies to mobilize more revenue for service delivery. In this study, both quantitative and qualitative methods are adopted in gathering and analysing data from central government officials, Goromonzi Rural District Council employees and members of the public. The results of the study reveal that the local government body faces a number of fiscal management challenges that include a shrinking tax base, non-payment of taxes, resistance to successive budgets; lack of implementation; lack of monitoring and evaluation. Council has implemented participatory budgeting to deal with some of these challenges. While results show a significant improvement in tax collection, some of the challenges have persisted. The paper proposes some recommendations useful to central government, policy makers, civil society organisations, local government officials and the general public. The paper manages to demonstrate that the implementation of social accountability tools can have positive impacts on the fiscal management challenges facing local governments. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-376
Author(s):  
Jill L. Tao

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.


1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Henri Derycke ◽  
Guy Gilbert

ABSTRACTAfter a sharp increase, the public debt of French local communities has been stabilized in real terms: its amount reached 54 per cent of total public debt in 1980. In the French institutional framework, local government borrowing policy is under the tight control of central agencies. An econometric model of the borrowing behaviour of local governments since 1965 is presented; it emphasizes the role of internal determinants of local debt (needs for investment, self-financing ability of governments), external constraints (e.g. interest rates and the financial resources of lenders, such as households savings), and finally the impact of macroeconomic policy measures from the central government.


2019 ◽  
pp. 354-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nataliya Tyukhtenko ◽  
Serhii Makarenko ◽  
Nataliia Oliinyk ◽  
Krzysztof Gluc ◽  
Edwin Portugal ◽  
...  

In the conditions of limited sources of financing for the introduction of advanced innovative technologies and equipment modernization, to retain the existing positions and increase the overall level of competitiveness can only the company that establishes a close relationship with government bodies, local governments and trade union organizations with the aim of obtaining possible preferences for development within the existing regulatory right field. The purpose of the article is to analyze the main socio-economic indicators of the development of Ukraine and its regions, the definition and justification of possible areas of establishing interaction between private enterprises and government agencies. The methodological basis of the study consisted of scientific works of domestic and foreign scientists and leading specialists, statistical and analytical materials of state authorities. The results are obtained through the use of such methods as expert – to identify the impact of qualitative and quantitative indicators on the socio-economic development of the Kherson region; economics and mathematics – to study the influence of a defined group of indicators on the index of the physical volume of the gross regional product; abstract-logical – for a theoretical synthesis and formulation of conclusions. It is revealed that among the key areas of interaction is the promotion of the state and local authorities in the creation of industrial parks. The conducted research on identifying the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the economy of the Kherson region indicates the need to develop measures to ensure the economic security of the region. To solve these problems at the regional level, it is proposed to implement a state policy that would be carried out in the following areas: ensuring a solid institutional protection of investor's property rights; improvement of the legislative framework; establishing an effective mechanism for combating corruption in Ukraine, developing an effective state policy on amnesty and unshadowing of incomes of individuals and legal entities. Keywords: socio-economic development, management, innovation, industrial park, competitiveness, foreign investment, amnesty of capital.


SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402092061
Author(s):  
Byung-Jik Kim

Although previous research has examined the influence of job insecurity on perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of employees, the literature has paid insufficient attention to the impact of job insecurity on organizational performance and the underlying mechanisms of this association. Organizational performance is one of the most critical outcomes in an organization, and studies are needed to examine the influence of job insecurity on organizational performance together with its intermediating processes. Accordingly, this study investigates the intermediating mechanisms between job insecurity and perceived organizational performance with a sequential mediation model. Specifically, this article hypothesizes that levels of employees’ psychological safety and organizational commitment sequentially mediate the job insecurity–perceived organizational performance link. Using three-wave time-lagged data from 321 employees in South Korea, this study found that psychological safety and organizational commitment were sequential mediators in the link. This finding suggests that levels of psychological safety and organizational commitment in employees function as underlying processes in explaining the job insecurity–perceived organizational performance link.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Xu ◽  
Meng Tian ◽  
Jie Yang ◽  
Guohu Xu

The severe air pollution in China has imperiled public health and resulted in substantial economic loss. To tackle the unprecedented pollution challenges, China has launched a campaign-based environmental inspection over all regions to impel local governments’ actual pollution abatement. At the same time, with the public’s awakening awareness about environmental protection, the public has also played a particularly vital role in this inspection. Under this circumstance, the study tries to reveal the impact of Environmental Inspection led by the Central Government (EICG) on air quality improvement, and to examine the role of public engagement in their relationship. Specifically, utilizing daily data covering 249 prefecture-level cities in China from 1 June 2015 to 31 May 2018, this study employed multiple regression models and then found that due to the implementation of EICG, the concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2 and NO2 decline by 2.642 μg/m3, 6.088 μg/m3, 1.357 μg/m3 and 1.443 μg/m3, respectively, and the air quality index decreases by 2.4 in total, which implies that EICG can improve the air quality to a great extent. However, the coefficients for major variables change from negative to positive, suggesting that an attenuation effect of EICG on air quality improvement exists in Chinese institutional background. Meanwhile, public engagement is shown to enhance the positive association between EICG and air quality improvement. Additionally, further analysis demonstrates that EICG promotes the improvement in air quality up to three months after the inspection in cities during the heating period, while the positive effect has existed during one month before the inspection in cities during the non-heating period. Additionally, in contrast to the instant effect in cities not specially monitored, there is a lagged effect of EICG in controlling the air pollution in cities specially monitored.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yashobanta Parida

AbstractWe examine the impact of economic development and the role of political alignment on the fatalities and damages due to floods using state-level panel data for 19 Indian states over the period 1980–2011. The empirical results confirm that economic development leads to a decline in flood fatalities and damages due to floods across Indian states. This study also examines the role of politics in the prevention of flood fatalities. We find that both state election years and political alignment influence the extent of flood fatalities. The results suggest that not only economic development but also healthy political coordination between the central government and the states is essential to mitigate the impact of floods.


Asian Survey ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Vivian Zhan

Chinese local governments widely resort to extra-budgetary exaction to finance themselves, which generates side effects that necessitate central intervention. Through statistical analysis, this paper finds that the central government intervenes only selectively, following a logic driven by economic development and political stability.


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