Efficiency of public goods provision in Wenchuan earthquake-stricken rural areas, Sichuan, China

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the efficiency of public goods provision in Wenchuan earthquake-stricken rural areas. The study was undertaken in August and September 2012 by the field survey of 24 villages. Design/methodology/approach – This paper, by applying the methods of analytic hierarchy process and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, aims to evaluate the efficiency by means of villagers’ satisfaction, which is designed in the idea of combining overall goal-classifications and specific indicators, including 7 classifications and a total of 36 specific indicators. Findings – Based on maximum membership principle by the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, the calculation results in 0.4485862 as a “general” level of the evaluation membership of efficiency in the post-quake public goods provision, and 3.0634837 as overall comprehensive score, a level lower than 3.5. Practical implications – The efficiency by means of villagers’ evaluation is generally at a lower degree. Although the reconstruction has completed some high-quality infrastructure, schools, hospitals and houses, we still face more macroscopic and long-term problems of recovering and sustaining the post-quake communities in many fields. Originality/value – It is more worthy to consider how to improve the efficiency of the reconstruction, especially in public goods and public services provision in the quake-stricken rural areas.