Local Level In China Research Articles

Quantifying Health Policy Uncertainty in China Using Newspapers: Text Mining Study.

From the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, a series of health measures and policies have been introduced from the central to the local level in China. However, no study has constructed an uncertainty index that can reflect the volatility, risk, and policy characteristics of the health environment. We used text mining analysis on mainstream newspapers to quantify the volume of reports about health policy and the total number of news articles and to construct a series of indexes that could reflect the uncertainty of health policy in China. Using the Wisenews database, 11 of the most influential newspapers in mainland China were selected to obtain the sample articles. The health policy uncertainty (HPU) index for each month from 2003 to 2022 was constructed by searching articles containing the specified keywords and calculating their frequency. Robustness tests were conducted through correlation analysis. The HPU index was plotted using STATA (version 16.0), and a comparative analysis of the China and US HPU indexes was then performed. We retrieved 6482 sample articles from 7.49 million news articles in 11 newspapers. The China HPU index was constructed, and the robustness test showed a correlation coefficient greater than 0.74, which indicates good robustness. Key health events can cause index fluctuations. At the beginning of COVID-19 (May 2020), the HPU index climbed to 502.0. In December 2022, China's HPU index reached its highest value of 613.8 after the release of the "New Ten Rules" pandemic prevention and control policy. There were significant differences in HPU index fluctuations between China and the United States during SARS and COVID-19, as well as during the Affordable Care Act period. National health policy is a guide for health development, and uncertainty in health policy can affect not only the implementation of policy by managers but also the health-seeking behavior of the people. Here, we conclude that changes in critical health policies, major national or international events, and infectious diseases with widespread impact can create significant uncertainty in China's health policies. The uncertainty of health policies in China and the United States is quite different due to different political systems and news environments. What is the same is that COVID-19 has brought great policy volatility to both countries. To the best of our knowledge, our work is the first systematic text mining study of HPU in China.

The principle of rule of law in local government in the PRC: theory and practice

This article analyzes the theoretical and practical problems of the current legislation at the local level in China. Taking into account the principle of the rule of law, local legislation has become the most important aspect in strengthening the capacity of local self-government and stimulating local development, which causes local legislation to follow the same values and goals as municipal government. This article explains the main theories underlying the practice of local legislation in China, explores the underlying problems in the current practice of local legislation, studies how the principle of "rule of law" is combined with local resources in China, and suggests ways to develop local legislation and strengthen the rule of law. Based on the theory of socialist legislation with Chinese specifics and taking into account current trends and the material and legal resources of local government in China, the article argues that the way to implement the rule of law in local legislation and governance lies through the awareness by local legislatures of a reasonable position of power, the boundary between law and freedom, as well as the balance between rights and responsibilities. These three aspects are the core of research on the awareness of the value of the subject of the rule of law.

Public participation at the local level in China—How does it work? A perspective from within

Public participation is widely adopted in managing public affairs, especially at the central level in many countries. This article examines the current status of public participation in a Chinese local government environmental agency, through the eyes of its employees. We find that informational and consultative forms of public participation are common; other forms of participation that require decision authority sharing are not absent. Regardless, public participation is perceived to be used for its instrumental benefits. The lack of time for citizens to participate and for the agency to manage participation are the major obstacles; the need for a top political decision and more public awareness are needed for the agency to engage the public meaningfully. The good news is that most public sector employees, especially managers, hold a positive view of public participation.

Cooperation between specialized cropping and livestock farms at local level reduces carbon footprint of agricultural system: A case study of recoupling maize-cow system in South China

Decoupling of crop and livestock production has become increasingly common in the world during to past decades. The cooperation between specialized crop and livestock farms have been paid more attention for the development of sustainable agriculture. This study assumed that rebuilding the linkage between specialized crop and livestock farms through cooperation at the local level would decrease agricultural GHG emissions. Therefore, we designed a cooperative crop-livestock farming model (CCLS) in South China by recoupling the cow farm with the sweet maize cultivation farms around it to demonstrate the hypothesis based on carbon footprint (CF) method. The CFs under two cooperative scenarios (CCLS20 and CCLS50) were compared with the corresponding decoupling models (DCLS20 and DCLS50). Results showed that CCLS significantly reduced GHG emissions from cropping systems in comparison to DCLS primarily by increasing the soil organic carbon storage while decreasing accumulative N2O emissions. In specific, the CFs of CCLS20 and CCLS50 were 48.78% and 623.34% lower than DCLS20 and DCLS50, respectively. The yield-based CFs of CCLS20 and CCLS50 were 66.30% and 165.99% lower than DCLS20 and DCLS50, respectively. Meanwhile, the CF of the cow farm in CCLS20 and CCLS50 were 8.80% and 8.22% lower than that in DCLS20/50 by lowering relative GHG emissions of straw supply in roughage forage and shortening manure storage time in the manure management process. Finally, the yield-based CF in CCLS20 and CCLS50 were 67.68% and 168.51% lower than the DCLS20 and DCLS50, respectively, demonstrating that the cooperation between specialized planting and livestock farms at local level reduced the CF of the agricultural production chain by the synergistic reduction effects of GHG emissions in cropland, livestock rearing and transportation processes. The results would provide a quantitative understanding of the net GHG emission of cooperative crop-livestock system at the local level in China and valuable information for the development of sustainable farming system in the world.

Barriers to the Implementation of Digital Policies at the Local Level in China

Barriers to the Implementation of Digital Policies at the Local Level in China

The Tongpo case: indigenous institutions and environmental justice in China

ABSTRACT Environmental conflict between indigenous peoples and state agencies developing natural resources has become a global phenomenon. This article presents a compelling but underreported incident of environmental conflict in China. The Tongpo case describes a struggle between a Mongol pastoral people who worship and protect their sacred mountain and a Han Chinese natural resource development company that began constructing a coking mill at the foot of this mountain in late 2005. This paper gives a detailed account of the origins, development, and impact of the Tongpo case from the perspective of indigenous environmental justice. It focuses on two related subjects: how Mongol indigenous institutions in China have protected the environment, and how environmental injustice has occurred at the local level in China. By applying an indigenous environmental justice lens to this case study, this paper exposes how environmental injustice is manifested through internal colonialism, nationalism, and racism and illuminates the ways in which indigenous groups protect their sacred lands.

A Comprehensive Measurement of Progress toward Local SDGs with Geospatial Information: Methodology and Lessons Learned

The UN’s 2030 Agenda defined 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In order to ensure the implementation of this global agenda, the UN proposed a systematic follow-up and review through indicator-based tracking and reporting of the progress with statistical and geospatial information toward SDGs at national, regional, and global levels. This has posed many technical and institutional challenges. Although international communities have devoted great attention to this hot topic, most of their work has focused on the conceptual design and preliminary testing. There are very few good practices for a comprehensive measurement and assessment of progress toward SDGs with the integration of statistical and geospatial information at national or local levels. This paper presents the methodology and results of a pioneer project which measured the progress toward SDGs at a local level in China (i.e., Deqing County) by integrating statistical and geospatial information. In this study, a number of technical/institutional issues have been tackled, such as the adoption of appropriate indicators at a local level, availability and acquisition of reliable data sets, and spatiotemporal analysis with a geographical perspective, interaction between SDGs and cross-sector coordination. The major conclusions are (a) the comprehensive progress toward SDGs in Deqing can be most appropriately measured and assessed by integrating geospatial and statistical information; (b) Deqing has made significant economic and social advances while maintaining a good ecological environment over the past few years. The results were released at the first United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress as a good practice and a live example to stimulate discussions.

Anti-Corruption Policy: China’s Tiger Hunt and India’s Demonetization

This paper examines the different styles of anti-corruption strategy, particularly at the local level in China and India. In China there has been a central push with a role of anti-corruption agencies that have law-enforcement power. In India there has been a focus on institutional building together with a visible role of the civil society. China has had a top-down approach while India has more of a bottom-up approach combined with top-down initiatives such as demonetization. Interviews with 44 mid-career and senior officials investigate the two approaches and the impacts of anti-corruption measures in China and India. Interviewees support the approaches adopted by China and India but doubt their effectiveness and sustainability. The way forward, they suggest, is to reduce the influence of political parties especially in India and to enhance e-governance in both countries. Experiences of the two countries have significant implications especially on capacity building, institutional development, and law enforcement.

Anti-Corruption Policy: China’s Tiger Hunt and India’s Demonetization

ABSTRACT This paper examines the different styles of anti-corruption strategy, particularly at the local level in China and India. In China there has been a central push with a role of anti-corruption agencies that have law-enforcement power. In India there has been a focus on institutional building together with a visible role of the civil society. China has had a top-down approach while India has more of a bottom-up approach combined with top-down initiatives such as demonetization. Interviews with 44 mid-career and senior officials investigate the two approaches and the impacts of anti-corruption measures in China and India. Interviewees support the approaches adopted by China and India but doubt their effectiveness and sustainability. The way forward, they suggest, is to reduce the influence of political parties especially in India and to enhance e-governance in both countries. Experiences of the two countries have significant implications especially on capacity building, institutional development, and law enforcement.

Informational inclusion: reflection work in China’s local people’s political consultative conferences

The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conferences (CPPCCs) tend to be disregarded in scholarly work for lacking formal political powers. This overlooks the fact that the CPPCC has a range of embedded input functions for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including the task of reflecting popular opinions and social issues (反映社情民意fanying sheqing minyi). This article looks closer at this aspect of the CPPCC, drawing on interviews, internal documents, and publicly available information. The findings highlight the complex relationship between officially defined purpose, top-down control, and local practice of reflection-work. Despite the divergence between expressed and intended goals, in practice, this form of CPPCC-work can both be a way to engage CPPCC-members in solving issues of local governance, as well a channel for, broadly defined, political inclusion at the local level in China.

How could water markets like Australia’s work in China?

What hurdles lie in the path of the Chinese government’s plan to introduce water trading? This question is addressed by reviewing lessons from establishing water markets in Australia, and then assessing an early scheme to create them in China. In Australia, markets in water opened up over several decades, with gradual recognition of what was needed to avoid negative third-party effects. Trading there is now crucial: in drought years nearly half the water used by farmers is traded. Australia’s experience throws light on the key requirements for a water market – though markets in China will, naturally, be fashioned to suit its own conditions. The pilot work by Tsinghua University in Gansu Province has led the way in having trading at the local level in China. Compared with Australia, however, rights are not as tradeable, metering is poor, and plots are tiny. Trading has mostly been by water user associations, made up of several hundred farmers, but this dampens the incentives that make markets effective – and can upset individual farmers. Possible ways past these hurdles are discussed.

Prospects, Politics, and Practices of Solar Energy Innovation in China

This article examines the prospects of, and politics and practices around, solar energy in China. It examines two different solar energy technologies, namely, solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar water heaters (SWHs), to understand how different pathways for low-carbon innovation are supported and constrained by (the lack of) political support at the national and local level, the interactions between state and nonstate actors, as well as how they relate to changing practices among consumers. This article also discusses obstacles and trade-offs. We find two very different approaches to solar energy. The solar PV industry in China is experiencing increased domestic growth, after many years of being mainly export-oriented. Prices declined rapidly in recent years, and solar PV also enjoys much political and financial support from the central government and local governments. However, there are high bureaucratic and technical hurdles to get grid connected and access the feed-in-tariff, particularly for individual users. SWHs on the other side are a “homegrown” Chinese technology that is ubiquitous in China, particularly in rural areas; that is easy to install and use; and that has developed from the grassroots levels to mass products with relatively little government support. Although being largely neglected by high-level discussions and plans, SWHs could contribute much to low-carbon transitions that are driven at the local level in China.

Local Governance Pathways to Decarbonization in China and India

AbstractReducing greenhouse gas emissions in the world's two largest countries requires feasible governance pathways that integrate politics, policy and administration. Using examples of successful mitigation at the local level in China (Guangzhou) and India (Gujarat), this article identifies integrated governance solutions that work in both cases through different types of linkages. In China, it is mainly intra-governmental linkages, while in India it is mainly state–society linkages. In neither case do international negotiations concerning emissions targets have significant effects, while national frameworks have only marginal effects. Approaching the problem in this comparative manner helps to clarify how greenhouse gas governance operates in each country, the lessons for central–local environmental relations, and the implications for international assistance.

Cause-specific mortality for 240 causes in China during 1990–2013: a systematic subnational analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013

China has experienced a remarkable epidemiological and demographic transition during the past three decades. Far less is known about this transition at the subnational level. Timely and accurate assessment of the provincial burden of disease is needed for evidence-based priority setting at the local level in China. Following the methods of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013), we have systematically analysed all available demographic and epidemiological data sources for China at the provincial level. We developed methods to aggregate county-level surveillance data to inform provincial-level analysis, and we used local data to develop specific garbage code redistribution procedures for China. We assessed levels of and trends in all-cause mortality, causes of death, and years of life lost (YLL) in all 33 province-level administrative units in mainland China, all of which we refer to as provinces, for the years between 1990 and 2013. All provinces in mainland China have made substantial strides to improve life expectancy at birth between 1990 and 2013. Increases ranged from 4.0 years in Hebei province to 14.2 years in Tibet. Improvements in female life expectancy exceeded those in male life expectancy in all provinces except Shanghai, Macao, and Hong Kong. We saw significant heterogeneity among provinces in life expectancy at birth and probability of death at ages 0-14, 15-49, and 50-74 years. Such heterogeneity is also present in cause of death structures between sexes and provinces. From 1990 to 2013, leading causes of YLLs changed substantially. In 1990, 16 of 33 provinces had lower respiratory infections or preterm birth complications as the leading causes of YLLs. 15 provinces had cerebrovascular disease and two (Hong Kong and Macao) had ischaemic heart disease. By 2013, 27 provinces had cerebrovascular disease as the leading cause, five had ischaemic heart disease, and one had lung cancer (Hong Kong). Road injuries have become a top ten cause of death in all provinces in mainland China. The most common non-communicable diseases, including ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cancers (liver, stomach, and lung), contributed much more to YLLs in 2013 compared with 1990. Rapid transitions are occurring across China, but the leading health problems and the challenges imposed on the health system by epidemiological and demographic change differ between groups of Chinese provinces. Localised health policies need to be implemented to tackle the diverse challenges faced by local health-care systems. China National Science & Technology Pillar Program 2013 (2013BAI04B02) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Alienation of Civic Engagement in China? Case Studies on Social Governance in Hangzhou

This article tries to map the state of civic engagement in social governance at local level in China. Using case studies in Hangzhou, we find that civic engagement in China has not increased responsiveness to citizens’ appeals as predicted in democracy theories. In contrast, civic engagement degrades to a powerful tool for the government to rule the people, which we call the “alienation of civic engagement.” Institutional Isomorphism theory is evoked to explain this phenomenon. Based on the strength of regime stability and responsiveness to citizens’ appeals, civic engagement is categorized into four types: ceremonial civic engagement, substantial civic engagement, absorptive civic engagement, and propagandistic civic engagement. We show the discourses, participation behaviors, and participation outcomes of each type of civic engagement. We also demonstrate how the authoritarian government developed strategies for each type of civic engagement.

Government Size and Tax Evasion: Evidence from China

AbstractThis paper investigates how government size affects tax evasion in China. Using matched county‐firm data for 1998–2005, we estimate the impact of county government size on the relationship between a firm's reported profit and imputed profit based on the national income accounts. A larger government is found to be correlated with more severe tax evasion, especially for state‐owned and collectively‐owned firms. Such an effect is stronger when local governance become worse. This paper shows that a large government does not bring about a strong state capacity to enforce tax rules at the local level in China.

The Implementation of the National Professional Standard for K-12 Teachers, 2012 (NPST) at Regional and Local Level in China: A Case Study of Regional Teacher Professional Development Standards Implementation in Qingyang District, Chengdu, China

The Ministry of Education of P. R. China published National Professional Standards for K-12 Teachers (NPST) in 2012. Guiding by the standards and the recommendations for its implementation, provincial and municipal governments across China have carried out education reforms, focusing on institution and mechanism innovation, in order to realize the regulation and guidance role of the national standards. This paper starts with recent educational reforms for implementing Qingyang District Teacher Professional Development Standards,2012(QDTPDS-2012) issued by Qingyang District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, a model of successful education reform in southwest China, and continue to make a comparison of teachers’ awareness, influences on teachers and schools, and implementation process of NPST and QDTPDS-2012 in Qingyang District by means of delivering questionnaires in teachers and interviewing with local school authorities, teacher educators, and education researchers; especially focuses on implementation process and approaches of QDTPDS-2012. The survey shows that the core value and principles of NPST are embodied in QDTPDS-2012; and QDTPDS-2012, as regional teacher professional development standards, is much more practical and feasible than NPST. In light of these findings, some implementation principles of national teacher professional standards in China, such as unifying objectives, implementing regionally, clarifying standards, innovating curriculums, emphasizing practice, making operational planning, establishing supporting system and adopting multi-evaluation approaches, are proposed in this paper.

Factors affecting tourism policy implementation: A conceptual framework and a case study in China

The understanding of tourism policy-making and implementation is important due to the multi-faceted nature of tourism and the complexity in inter-organizational relations and collaborative policy-making. This paper aims at contributing to the frameworks and theories regarding the implementation of tourism policy by considering the factors identified in both the top-down and bottom-up approaches of policy implementation. The main purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework describing the factors affecting the implementation of tourism policy and illustrate the framework with the experience of tourism policy implementation at the local level in China. It was found that four factors including: economic and social macro-environment; institutional arrangements; inter-organizational relations (IOR) and inter-organizational co-ordination structures (IOC); and interest groups were influential in the implementation of tourism policy. Furthermore, the case study in China identified the roles of each factor in terms of constraints and facilitators in the real-world context and enriched the conceptual framework by illustrating the relationships among factors. This study sheds light on concepts and theories regarding tourism policy implementation. It also addresses some solutions which may enrich the tourism policy literature in an Asian and developing country context.

Market Failure or Governmental Failure? A Study of China's Water Abstraction Policies

AbstractChina's water abstraction policies are significant for illustrating the application of market-based instruments in a transitional and developing country and for shedding light on improving China's water management system. This article presents a new approach to analysing applications of market-based instruments for water resources in China. Expanding the analysis beyond a rational choice approach, it demonstrates the institutional dimension of policy implementation at the local level in China. Four peculiar features of China's water institutions influence local governments in dealing with water abstraction differently from how regulators might expect. This explains local governmental failures and the implementation of water abstraction policies in several ways, including the setting of charges at low levels, a lack of necessary monitoring and sanctions, few incentives to collect charges diligently, and failure to provide accessible information for the public.

State promotion of SME development at the local level in China

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine state promotion of private sector development in China, with particular emphasis on local configurations of support and service provision.Design/methodology/approachVia analysis of two cases, constraints on the development of small‐ to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) support and enabling environments and infrastructures are explored.FindingsThe cases highlight several fundamental constraints to state support for private sector development, including: an under‐developed market for business development and other support services; lack of budgetary facility in municipalities to resource publicly supported services to private SMEs; a lack of expertise within local government to develop mechanisms to engage with and support the development of privately owned enterprises.Research limitations/implicationsThe localised nature of implementation of the 2003 SME Promotion Law, at municipal and county level, appears to be a constraint on systematic development of comprehensive SME support systems, as mandated by this law.Practical implicationsFirst, the private sector has grown without emergence of a purposive infrastructure of direct state support to enable this development, which appears to be a positive outcome from reform. Second, future private sector growth may be constrained should local government not develop mechanisms to engage with the private sector to enable its continued growth and development.Originality/valueThe paper offers insight into current, and future, relations state promotion of enterprise in China.