Public Administration in Hong Kong: Dynamics of Reform and Executive-Led Public Policy [Paperback]

1. Explaining political-administrative relations in policymaking: an analytical framework 2. Regime change and Principal Official Accountability System 3. Reform impact: 2002-2005 4. Reform impact and Political Appointment System: 2005-2012 5. Causal paths to varied political-administrative relations in policymaking 6. Implications for political-administrative relations in policymaking: 2012-2022

This book looks at the relationship between politicians and bureaucrats in policy making and the factors that account for variation in such relationships by looking at regime change and governance reform. It uses Hong Kong as a case study to illustrate the impact of these changes.

This book investigates the case of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Peoples Republic of China, mapping the changing patterns of political-administrative relations affected by the sovereignty change and structural reforms. It identifies the conditions that account for the varied political-administrative relations resulting from these changes, and develops an analytical framework that integrates and adapts theories and models from Western contexts to explain varied political-administrative relations in Hong Kong policymaking.

The book tests its hypotheses through a qualitative comparative analysis of 18 cases occurring during the period of 19972012. It also conducts a comparative case analysis, which identified alternative causal conditions that were missing in the original framework. The book concludes that civil servants no longer dominate policymaking in Hong Kong after the regime change and structural reforms. While senior civil servants have sustained influence over policymaking processes through codified rules and political appointment, some of them have adapted to the changes in political environment that require more proactive policy styles and more hierarchical loyalty to the Central Peoples Government of Chil£2