This book analyses public sector reform comprehensively in all parts of Chinas public sector government bureaucracy, public service units and state-owned enterprises. It argues that reform of the public sector has become an issue of great concern to the Chinese leaders, who realize that efficient public administration is key to securing the regimes governing capacity and its future survival. The book shows how thinking about public sector reform has shifted in recent decades from a quantitative emphasis on 'small government', which involved the reduction in size of what was perceived as a bloated bureaucracy, to an emphasis on the quality of governance, which may result in an increase in public sector personnel. The book shows how, although Western ideas about public sector reform have had an impact, Chinese government continues to be best characterized as 'state capitalism', with the large state-owned enterprises continuing to play an important and increasing role in the economy and in business. However, state-owned enterprises no longer provide care for large numbers of people from the cradle to the grave finding an alternative, efficient way of delivering basic welfare and health care is the big challenge facing Chinas public sector.
1. Globalization and Public Sector Reform in China Kjeld Erik Br?dsgaard 2. Looking West: The Impact of Western Ideas on Public Sector Reform Policies in China John Burns 3. Transitional Meritocracy? Institutions and Practices of Personnel Management in State-Building in Contemporary China Wang Zhengxu and Dragan Pavlicevic 4. Digital Monitoring and Public Administrative Reform in China Jesper Schl?ger 5. Public Sector Reform in China: Who is Losing Out? Kjeld Erik Br?dsgaard and Chen Gang 6. Health Sector Reforms in Contemporary China: A Political Perspective <l.