Assessing the Balance of Power in Central-Local Relations in China [Hardcover]

How do we understand the evolution of central-local relations in China during the reform period? This book addresses this question by focusing on eight separate issues in which the central-local relationship has been especially salient  government finance, investment control, regional development, administrative zoning, implementation, culture, social welfare and international relations. Each chapter introduces a sector and the way the center and various local governments have shared or divided power over the different periods of Chinas reform era. The balance of power is gauged dynamically over time to measure the extent to which one level of government dominates, influences or shares power in making decisions in each of these particular domains, as well as what is likely to occur in the foreseeable future. The authors assess the winners and losers of these changes among key actors in Chinas society. The result provides a dynamic view of Chinas changing power relations.

1. Introduction: Understanding Central-Local Relations in China (John A. Donaldson)

2. Central-Provincial Power Relations in the Fiscal Realm of China, 1980-2014 (S. Philip Hsu)

3. Chinas Perforated Investment Control, 1978-2013 (Yukyung Yeo)

4. China's Regional Development Policy (Long Yang)

5. Chinas Administrative Hierarchy: The Balance of Power and Winners and Losers Within Chinas Levels of Government (John A. Donaldson)

6. Implementation: Changing Norms, Issue-Variance, and Unending Tugs of War (Jae Ho Chung)

7. Chinas Culture Policy and the Central-Local Relationship (Tse-Kang Leng)

8. Recentralization in Chinas Social Welfare Regime (Xufeng Zhu)

9. Central-Local Interactions in Foreign Affairs (Mingjiang Li)

an informative book on the varied aspects of the relations between the local and central level with the interesting finding that the trend in recent yearlã(