scholarly journals LAND-LEASING BEHAVIOR, LOCAL OFFICIALS’ PROMOTIONS, AND CHINESE CITIES’ DEBT RISKS

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 485-496
Author(s):  
Lihua Zhang ◽  
Rui Han ◽  
Juanfeng Zhang ◽  
Lele Li ◽  
Danxia Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Chinese Cities ◽  
Debt Burden ◽  
Local Officials ◽  
Dependence Level ◽  
Bank System ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Land Bank ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Land Leasing

This study first analyzes how local governments’ land-leasing behaviors affect Chinese cities’ debt risk then examines the impact of officials’ promotion mechanisms on debt risk in China’s urban land bank system. The land-leasing behavior is reflected through three indicators, namely, land-leasing revenue, land-leasing scale, and land financial dependence level. Two new indicators are constructed to measure the local government’ debt risk from the perspective of debt scale and debt repayment: the debt scale risk and debt burden risk. Empirical analyses are based on the data of 281 prefecture-level cities from 2006–2015. The main findings are twofold. First, the debt scale risk is positively affected by the land-leasing revenue, and officials’ promotion pressure. The debt burden risk is positively affected by the land financial dependence and officials’ promotion pressure. Second, the officials’ promotion pressure significantly enhances the positive effect of land-leasing revenue on the debt scale risk. Local officials, who are under promotion pressure, are inclined to expand the size of urban investment bonds, which increases debt scale risk.

scholarly journals Does the “Miracle Drug” of Environmental Governance Really Improve Air Quality? Evidence from China’s System of Central Environmental Protection Inspections

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruxin Wu ◽  
Piao Hu
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Treatment Effect ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Officials ◽  
The Media ◽  
Positive Effect

Central environmental protection inspections have completed their goal of full coverage of 31 provinces in China, and more than 17,000 officials have been held accountable. The media has evaluated the effectiveness of central environmental protection inspections using the notions of “instant results” and the “miracle drug of environmental governance.” Can this approach effectively promote local environmental governance? This paper takes the treatment effect of central environmental protection inspections on air pollution as an example. Using the method of regression discontinuity, central environmental protection inspections are found to have a positive effect on the air quality index (AQI), but this effect is only short term and unsustainable. Additionally, there are inter-provincial differences. Judging from the research results on sub-contaminants, the treatment effect of central environmental protection inspections on air pollution is mainly reflected in PM10, PM2.5 and CO. Under the current situation in which PM10 and PM2.5 are the main assessment indexes, this phenomenon indicates that due to the political achievements and promotion of local officials and for reasons of accountability, it is more effective for the central government to conduct specific environmental assessments through local governments than to conduct central environmental protection inspections.

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.

scholarly journals The Affirmation Special Allocation Fund and Regional Economic in Indonesia

JEJAK ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-446
Author(s):  
Amanda Petty Soraya ◽  
Riatu Mariatul Qibthiyyah
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Estimation Method ◽  
Regional Economic ◽  
Equal Distribution ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Accelerate Development ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Border Areas ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect

Starting 2015, Government of Indonesia introduced Affirmation Special Allocation Fund (DAK). Affirmation DAK is expected to fund infrastructure, accessibility and improvement of basic services, as well as aiming to accelerate development in disadvantaged areas, border areas, outer islands, and transmigration areas. These targeted regions on average have low GRDP per capita. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Affirmation DAK on the regional economy in Indonesia. The existence of Affirmation DAK is expected to support equal distribution of basic infrastructure and services and accelerate development in Affirmation DAK receiving area which is a region with characteristics of disadvantaged areas, border areas, outermost islands and transmigration areas. This study uses panel data of 491 regencies/municipalities in 2011-2018  and using the fixed effect estimation method. Empirical results show that Affirmation DAK has not had a positive effect on GRDP per capita. Limiting estimation only to Affirmation DAK recipient regions, there is also no positive association between Affirmation DAK and GRDP per capita. The results of this study also show that the impact of Affirmation DAK is very small on the recipient area, implying that Affirmation DAK in its current form and existing pool fund size, has not yet an effective policy for regions exiting from “the lagging regions trap”. It is instead, still, revenue sharing and general allocation fund (DAU), that have consistent positive effect on regional economic growth, both are block grants that to an extent related to more discretionary to local governments in terms of use of fund.

scholarly journals The Impact of FDI on Urban PM2.5 Pollution in China: The Mediating Effect of Industrial Structure Transformation

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 9107
Author(s):  
Taowu Pei ◽  
Lei Gao ◽  
Chao Yang ◽  
Chang Xu ◽  
Yu Tian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Industrial Structure ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Structure Transformation ◽  
Chinese Cities ◽  
International Environment ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

With the rapid growth of foreign direct investment (FDI), PM2.5 pollution in Chinese cities is increasing. Based on panel data for 271 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2016, this paper uses the dynamic spatial fixed-effects Durbin model to analyze the correlation between FDI and PM2.5 pollution and the effect of FDI on urban PM2.5 concentrations, as mediated by industrial structure transformation, which is clarified using Stata/SE 16.0. The results showed that PM2.5 pollution in China has significant spatial spillover effects, and the pollution haven hypothesis is applicable to Chinese cities. The industrial structure partially mediates the relationship between FDI and PM2.5. This paper proposes that local governments should promote the market-oriented reform of FDI to create a more convenient, legalized, and international environment for FDI and innovate the governance philosophy of only reducing the existing emissions. A top-level design and sound market supervision system of PM2.5 control are also needed.

scholarly journals Does Air Pollution Impact Fiscal Sustainability? Evidence from Chinese Cities

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (21) ◽  
pp. 7247
Author(s):  
Ge Gao ◽  
Xiuting Li ◽  
Xiaoting Liu ◽  
Jichang Dong
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Fiscal Sustainability ◽  
Pollutant Emission ◽  
Debt Burden ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Impact

Fiscal sustainability is an issue of great concern for governments globally and air pollution control has become an important factor affecting fiscal sustainability. This study aims to examine the impact of air pollution on fiscal sustainability in the short and long run. We conducted an empirical analysis based on air pollution and local government debt data on China’s prefecture-level cities in 2014–2019, using regression discontinuity design (RDD) and a panel data model. The results show that air pollution reduces the debt burden of governments in the short run. However, in the long run, addressing the negative impacts of air pollution adds to the debt burden of local governments, hindering fiscal sustainability. Fiscal freedom and the level of public services significantly moderate the negative impact of air pollution on fiscal sustainability. A higher level of fiscal freedom generally indicates a greater incentive for local governments to raise pollutant emission standards, strengthen the construction of green infrastructure, and subsidize green enterprises. Furthermore, a higher level of public services reflects better infrastructure and higher levels of investment in environmental protection, which help to reduce the negative impact of air pollution. The governments are suggested to take measures to effectively control air pollution, so as to enhance fiscal stability in the long run.

Bureaucratic Slack in China: The Anti-corruption Campaign and the Decline of Patronage Networks in Developing Local Economies

2019 ◽  
Vol 243 ◽  
pp. 611-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Wang ◽  
Xia Yan
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Political Survival ◽  
Local Economies ◽  
Local Officials ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis article presents a qualitative empirical study of the impact of corruption and anti-corruption on the efficiency of China's bureaucratic system in developing a local economy. Drawing on 40 in-depth interviews and 98 days of participant observation, it first investigates the significance of extravagant position-related consumption in building personalized bureaucratic ties (patronage networks) and mobilizing resources for local economic development. It then examines the causal link between President Xi's campaign against corruption and extravagance and the rise of bureaucratic slack in local governments. The anti-extravagance campaign reduces the level of corruption in local government but it discourages local officials, who are motivated primarily by the desire to avoid risk and ensure political survival, from using banquets and gift-giving to build patronage networks, attract investment and mobilize development resources. The article concludes that corruption may contribute positively to the efficiency of a fragmented Chinese bureaucracy in fostering development at the local level, while the anti-corruption campaign compels local cadres to develop a new coping strategy – bureaucratic slack – for implementing policies and developing local economies.

An analysis of the impact of jurisdictional fragmentation on property taxes in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Oppong
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Capital Expenditure ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Property Taxes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Impact ◽  
District Assemblies ◽  
Jurisdictional Fragmentation ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose Following decades of weak financial capacity of local governments in raising enough revenues to finance their budgets, this paper aims to examine the impact of jurisdictional fragmentation on property taxes in Ghana. Since independence in 1957, many local governments in Ghana are yet to build their fiscal capacity to collect enough own source revenues to support their local budgets. All local government laws in Ghana have assigned property taxes to local governments. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses quantitative econometric techniques with local level panel data from 2010 to 2016 to examine the impact of fragmenting assemblies in Ghana. Findings The paper finds that fragmenting local governments have an overall negative effect on property taxes in district assemblies in Ghana. However, fragmentation of metropolitan assemblies has an overall positive effect on property taxes, relative to district assemblies. In the case of municipal assemblies, fragmentation has a net positive effect on property taxes but an overall marginally negative effect, relative to district assemblies. Also, the paper finds that grants, capital expenditure and administrative expenditure of local governments do not impact on the collection of property tax revenues in all types of assemblies in Ghana. Originality/value The paper concludes that relative to metropolitan assemblies, fragmenting districts assemblies is not congruent with government efforts to promote the collection of property taxes in Ghana.

Influence As Power: French Local Government Reconsidered

1974 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerome E. Milch
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Louis Xiv ◽  
Local Officials ◽  
The Impact

Administrative centralization has been a fact of life in France since Louis XIV. Political analysts have alternately praised the system as ‘the envy of all Europe’ and condemned it as ‘a glittering example of “blockage” in our society’. Very few of them have, however, made any serious effort to study the impact of centralized structures on local governments. The literature is remarkable for the absence of empirical research on the exercise of power by elected local officials in France.

scholarly journals The Impact of State-owned Urban Land Leasing on Intention to Reside of Migrant Labors

2020 ◽  
Vol 214 ◽  
pp. 01042
Author(s):  
Mingfeng Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
House Price ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Fiscal Stress ◽  
Industrial Land ◽  
Secondary Industry ◽  
The Impact ◽  
House Building ◽  
Land Leasing

Based on the data of the 74310 individual migrant labors from 250 cities that distribute uniformly in China, taking the fiscal stress of the local governments as the instrumental variable due to endogeneity, the IV-probit models indicate that: the area of state-owned urban land leasing promotes the overall intention to reside of migrant labors. Besides, the use structure of urban land leasing matters as well. Land leasing for public service effects the intention to reside positively while land leasing for house building and the secondary industry restrain the intention through mediators like education, house price and industry scale. State-owned urban land leasing for the tertiary industry is proven uncorrelated with the intention to reside, however. It is advised that the local governments ought to choose the urban land leasing structure with larger proportion of land for public service and less proportion of residential and industrial land to strengthen the intention to reside of migrant labors.

scholarly journals Effects of Air Pollution Control on Urban Development Quality in Chinese Cities Based on Spatial Durbin Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 2822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanchao Feng ◽  
Xiaohong Wang ◽  
Wenchao Du ◽  
Jun Liu
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Spatial Durbin Model ◽  
Chinese Cities ◽  
The Impact

With the rapid development of urbanization, industrialization, and motorization, a large number of Chinese cities have been affected by heavy air pollution. In order to promote the development quality of Chinese cities, mixed regulations to control air pollution have been implemented under the lead of government. The principal component analysis and efficacy coefficient method are used to estimate urban development quality, according to the panel data of 285 prefecture-level cities in China over the period 2003–2016. On this basis, the paper uses the spatial Durbin model to study the direct impact and the spatial spillover effect of air pollution control on urban development quality in China. Results show that the control of smoke and dust has improved urban development quality in China, however, the control of sulfur dioxide has led to the decline of urban development quality in China. Furthermore, the impact of air pollution control on urban development quality in the eastern region is of great significance in statistical tests, while the situation in the central and western regions has not passed the test, implying the spatial heterogeneity among different regions. The different effects of air pollution control on urban development quality in different regions also illustrate the consciousness and supervision of local governments’ environment protection. Finally, the effects decomposition of the influencing factors based on spatial Durbin model (SDM) also supports the robust findings. Promoting the upgrading of energy consumption structure, raising awareness of environmental protection and supervision, and strengthening cooperation of different regions are suggested. Further recommendations are provided to improve the conceptual design and increase the credibility of our research. Our study not only provides new evidence on the impact of air pollution control on urban development quality in China, but also proposes a new perspective to promote urban development quality in China.

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