State of the field: research on public policy and public administration in China

Abstract

This chapter offers readers a contour of the development of public policy and public administration (PA) teaching in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Next, it discusses the current state of research on PA in China, via an examination of some good reviews of both the English literature and its Chinese counterpart on PA in China. It then outlines each of the chapters to guide readers through this Handbook. It discusses the two ways with which this Handbook departs from existing handbooks on PA. Firstly, many existing handbooks discuss general challenges and broad opportunities in PA research in different countries, yet they do not include a detailed discussion of theoretical and empirical issues in each of the countries they cover. In comparison, this Handbook offers detailed information on many aspects of PA in a single country, i.e., the PRC. Secondly, many existing PA handbooks include chapters on theoretic perspectives on different topics in PA, which are mostly based on research in the West. They are unlikely to be very relevant for readers who are interested in empirical issues in or how existing theories from the West can be best used to guide research on PA in China. In comparison, many chapters of this Handbook combine a literature review with empirical analyses in the study of PA in China. It can serve as a reference for graduate students and young scholars in future research in this field. This chapter concludes with a suggestion of some possible action plans to advance research on PA in China.