Township-village Enterprises Research Articles

Identification of Groundwater Contamination in a Rapidly Urbanized Area on a Regional Scale: A New Approach of Multi-Hydrochemical Evidences.

Efficient identification of groundwater contamination is a major issue in the context of groundwater use and protection. This study used a new approach of multi-hydrochemical indicators, including the Cl-Br mass ratio, the hydrochemical facies, and the concentrations of nitrate, phosphate, organic contaminants, and Pb in groundwater to identify groundwater contamination in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) where there is large scale urbanization. In addition, the main factors resulting in groundwater contamination in the PRD were also discussed by using socioeconomic data and principal component analysis. Approximately 60% of groundwater sites in the PRD were identified to be contaminated according to the above six indicators. Contaminated groundwaters commonly occur in porous and fissured aquifers but rarely in karst aquifers. Groundwater contamination in porous aquifers is positively correlated with the urbanization level. Similarly, in fissured aquifers, the proportions of contaminated groundwater in urbanized and peri-urban areas were approximately two times that in non-urbanized areas. Groundwater contamination in the PRD was mainly attributed to the infiltration of wastewater from township-village enterprises on a regional scale. In addition, livestock waste was also an important source of groundwater contamination in the PRD. Therefore, in the future, the supervision of the wastewater discharge of township-village enterprises and the waste discharge of livestock should be strengthened to protect against groundwater contamination in the PRD.

Natural Background Level and Contamination of Shallow Groundwater Salinity in Various Aquifers in a Coastal Urbanized Area, South China

Assessing natural background levels (NBLs) of chemical components in groundwater is useful for the evaluation of groundwater contamination in urbanized areas. The present study assessed the NBL of total dissolved solids (TDS) in various groundwater units in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) where urbanization is a large scale and discussed factors controlling groundwater salinity contamination in the PRD. Results showed that the NBL of TDS in groundwater in the coastal-alluvial plain was more than 1.5 times that in other groundwater units because of the seawater intrusion in this groundwater unit. By contrast, interactions of water and soils/rocks were the main factors controlling the NBLs of TDS in other groundwater units. Groundwater salinity contamination in the PRD was positively correlated with the urbanization level. Wastewater from township-village enterprises and industrial wastewater were likely to be the main sources for groundwater salinity contamination in the PRD. Moreover, the wastewater leakage from sewer systems was one of the main pathways for groundwater salinity contamination in urbanized areas, because the proportion of groundwater salinity contamination in urbanized areas formed in 1988–1998 was more than 1.5 times that in urbanized areas formed in 1998–2006 regardless of groundwater units. Besides, sewage irrigation and leakage of landfill leachate were also important sources for groundwater salinity contamination in the PRD.

Groundwater is important for the geochemical cycling of phosphorus in rapidly urbanized areas: a case study in the Pearl River Delta

The fate of phosphorus in groundwater needs to be understood because phosphorus-rich groundwater is discharged into surface water bodies, which causes eutrophication, especially in urbanized areas. The present study investigated the spatial distributions and driving forces related to the groundwater phosphate levels in various aquifers in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), which has undergone three decades of urbanization, as well as the relationship between groundwater phosphate and arsenic was also discussed. The results showed that most of the high-phosphate (>1.53 mg/L) groundwater occurred in granular aquifers. The proportion of high-phosphate groundwater in granular aquifers was more than four times that in fissured aquifers, whereas high-phosphate groundwater was not observed in karst aquifers in the PRD. High-phosphate groundwater primarily occurred in urbanized areas in the PRD, and the proportion of high-phosphate groundwater had a significant positive correlation with the urbanization level. In granular aquifers, reductive environment and alkalization led to enrichment of the groundwater with phosphate. Anthropogenic sources such as wastewater from township-village enterprises (TVE) and animal wastes were the main sources of high-phosphate groundwater in urbanized areas, and the external input of phosphate enriched the groundwater arsenic levels in urbanized areas. By contrast, geogenic sources such as the release of phosphate from the reduction of Fe/Mn (hydr)oxides and the seawater intrusion accompanied by the release of phosphate from secondary minerals were mainly responsible for the occurrence of high-phosphate groundwater in peri-urban and non-urbanized areas, respectively. The high concentrations of both phosphate and arsenic in groundwater in fissured aquifers were mainly attributed to the infiltration of wastewater from TVEs. In contrast to the granular aquifers, the groundwater Eh and pH conditions were not conductive to the occurrence of high-phosphate groundwater in fissured aquifers.

Distributions and origins of nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium in various aquifers in an urbanized coastal area, south China

High nitrogen loading in aquifers is an important issue because of its harmful effects on human health; its origins are often complicated, especially in urbanized areas. This study aims to investigate the distributions of nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium in various aquifers in the Pearl River Delta, and to identify their main sources using hydrochemical and socioeconomic data and principal component analysis. The results show that groundwater with high nitrate (>20 mg/L as N), high nitrite (>1 mg/L as N), and high ammonium (>0.5 mg/L as N) appeared in 7.0%, 4.3%, and 20.5% of granular aquifers, and in 8.3%, 0.8%, and 5.3% of fissured aquifers, respectively, but did not appear in karst aquifers. The proportions of high-nitrate and high-ammonium groundwater in urbanized areas were nearly or more than twice those in non-urbanized areas. High nitrate levels in both granular and fissured aquifers originated mainly from the wastewater leakage of township-village enterprises during the industrialization. Urbanization accompanied by leakage of domestic sewage was another main driving force for high nitrate levels in fissured aquifers. Housing construction aggravated groundwater nitrate contamination in newly urbanized areas. Nitrate contamination in granular aquifers was reduced via denitrification in urbanized areas developed in 1988–1998, whereas that in fissured aquifers was increased by nitrification in urbanized areas developed before 1998. High ammonium levels in granular aquifers in urbanized areas originated mainly from mineralization of organic nitrogen in overlying aquitards, whereas that in peri-urban areas and non-urbanized areas originated mainly from urbanization accompanied by leakage of domestic sewage and irrigation using ammonium-rich river water, respectively. By contrast, high ammonium levels in fissured aquifers are attributed mainly to mineralization of organic nitrogen in carbon-rich strata, which was enhanced by urbanization accompanied by a relatively anoxic environment. Our study implies that nitrate and ammonium contaminations in this area will worsen in the future owing to a lack of effective control and treatment in these rapidly urbanized areas. Naturally originating high-ammonium groundwater in this area can be used as a nitrogen resource, for example, as a nitrogen fertilizer in agricultural irrigation.

Creative Chinese Countryside? Township-Village Enterprises as Incubators

Since the turn of the century, creative industries have displayed considerable power in transforming the social and economic landscapes of most global metropolises, including such Chinese mega-cities as Beijing and Shanghai. However, the story of creative industries does not end there. Recent studies have focused on the role of creative sector in the countryside. It has been argued that the creative sector can effectively contribute to diversifying socio-economic development in rural areas by increasing employment, enhancing the quality of life, and promoting social inclusion and community development. With the aim to chart new paths for China’s rural revitalisation and address the country’s ‘three rural issues’ (i.e. agriculture, rural areas and farmers), this paper examines the potentials and challenges to developing the creative sector in rural China. It first reviews the academic debate about expanding the development of creative industries from urban to rural areas. Drawing on the research and classification of creative industries in rural Western Ireland, this study identifies industries characterised by ‘content creation and production’ and ‘creative design services’, which would have potential in rural China. The major impediments to and crucial factors for developing rural creative industries in China are investigated and appraised within the framework of ‘creative people, creative place, and creative support’. After analysing emerging practices in Jiangsu Province, this paper highlights the potential of abandoned industrial complexes in rural parts of China’s coastal regions, which can act as incubators for creative industries. Those former manufacturing plants are the remains of township-village enterprises (TVEs), which constituted part of China’s flagship policy for rural regeneration in the 1980s. Not only do they have special architectural attributes favourable for creative production, but also represent the socio-economic entity of the village collective and are the carriers of cultural meanings and memories. This paper concludes with a set of recommendations for both public and private sectors. It calls for a more proactive stance from governments to promote the creative sector in rural areas and revitalise rural economies and communities through the reuse or regeneration of former TVEs.

Obtaining global certification

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine predictors of obtaining global certification (ISO 9000) in an emerging market by focusing on ownership structure and total quality management (TQM) commitment.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adapts the theory of planned behavior to explain organizations that obtain global certification in an emerging market (China). Using 269 service firms at different stages of ISO 9000 certification (a proxy for goal-directed behavior/excellence by organizations), the study examines the influence of ownership structures (a proxy for perceived behavioral control) and TQM commitment (a proxy for attitude toward a behavior), using a probit model.FindingsThe results showed that ownership structures that were state-owned enterprises, privately owned enterprises and township-village enterprises (TVEs) had a lower probability of obtaining global certification. However, TQM commitment moderates the relationship between ownership structure and obtaining ISO 9000 certification for POEs and TVEs. The study found stronger results for a subsample of organizations that intended to obtain ISO 9000 certification. Among organizations without ISO 9000 certification, we examined organizations that began the learning process for ISO 9000 and those that had not, and found differences based on competitive pressures, ownership structures, and the moderating effect of TQM commitment.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research may consider manufacturing organizations and other countries to further validate the findings of our study.Practical implicationsCreating strong TQM commitment can be an effective means for POEs and TVEs to obtain ISO 9000 certification.Originality/valueThis study is the first to adapt the theory of planned behavior for an organization-level analysis of ISO 9000 certification, especially in the service operations setting. The study found that TQM commitment selectively moderates ownership structures in explaining the probability that an organization obtained ISO 9000 certification.

Occupational Health and Safety Challenges in China—Focusing on Township-Village Enterprises

ABSTRACT China has experienced dramatic industrialization, urbanization, and economic growth over the last 3 decades. The rapid transformation and dramatic prosperity of industries in rural areas have, in turn, created tremendous challenges for occupational health and safety (OHS). This article was prepared to address occupational health and safety issues in township- and village-owned enterprises (TVEs) from several aspects, including working conditions and workplace hazards, major recognized OHS problems, implications of TVE industries to environmental health, and migrant workers. Among the major recognized OHS problems, pneumoconiosis, chemical poisoning, and workplace accidents, especially in small-scale coal mines, are highlighted. It is suggested that the national polices and regulations that specifically target TVEs are indispensable and a more powerful administrative structure should be established to ensure that the pertinent polices, regulations, and OHS standards can be enforced widely and effectively in practice.

Rural Employment and the Role of Township-Village Enterprises in China

Rural Employment and the Role of Township-Village Enterprises in China

Barriers to Efficiency and the Privatisation of Township-Village Enterprises

Qian (2000) and others suggest that post-1994 tax and banking reforms in China, combined with the development of markets for allocating resources, influenced the economic performance of township-village enterprises (TVEs) and private enterprises (PEs). This paper uses Chinese provincial level data to search for evidence of advantages and/or disadvantages offered to TVEs and PEs before and after the 1994 reforms. We define a sectoral net income-based measure of overall efficiency and decompose the measure into components that highlight the existence of credit constraints, output target constraints and labour hiring constraints. The results offer empirical support for Qian and others explanation of why private enterprises eventually emerged as the dominant institution for allocating resources in post-1994 rural China.

‘Big Think’, Disjointed Incrementalism: Chinese Economic Success and Policy Lessons for Africa, or the Case for Pan-Africanism

Chinese economic success is not the product of free market accidental coincidence. Rather, it is orchestrated by the State through a mixture of nationalism (‘big think’) and pragmatic decisions (disjointed incrementalism) in agriculture, finance and industry. Furthermore, these decisions build upon existing institutions (e.g. the Household Responsibility System, Township Village Enterprises, etc), some dating back to pre-revolutionary China (e.g. Special Economic Zones), rather than imported ones from outside China. The article explores the utility (and lack thereof) of the Chinese model in the African context, as well as the possibilities of an Africa-centred ‘big think’ (Pan-Africanism) capable of mobilizing the continent for development.

The Puzzle of China's Township–Village Enterprises The Paradox of Local Corporatism in a Dual-Track Economic Transition

This paper seeks to reconcile and synthesize the diverse views about the township–village enterprises (TVEs) and local corporatism in the context of ongoing institutional changes in China as a transition economy. Specifically, I attempt to integrate the economic, political, cultural, and social explanations for TVEs, especially the two competing views of market competition and political corruption. I focus on the puzzle of TVE efficiency as well as the paradox of local corporatism as a government–business partnership with both a positive function of public alliance for wealth creation and a negative function of private collusion for wealth transfer. I argue that the key to both the puzzle of TVEs and the paradox of local corporatism lies in China's dual-track reform paradigm (i.e. a market-for-mass track and a state-for-élite track). Lastly, I discuss the critical implications for theory building and policymaking regarding economic transition in general.

Entrepreneurial strategies in a transitional economy: Chinese state and non-state enterprises compared and contrasted

This study compares and contrasts certain characteristics of entrepreneurial orientations in response to China's emerging business environment among state owned enterprises (SOEs) and township/village enterprises (TVEs). A survey of SOE and TVE managers shows that, in comparison to SOEs, TVEs tend to be more innovative, adaptive and proactive in response to the dynamism and munificence of the business environment. SOE-TVE differences are less pronounced, however, with regard to environmental complexity. Implications for entrepreneurship research and practice as well as for the future performance of SOEs and TVEs are delineated.

Red Capitalists in China: The Party, Private Entrepreneurs, and Prospects for Political Change (review)

Reviewed by: Red Capitalists in China: The Party, Private Entrepreneurs, and Prospects for Political Change Lawrence C. Reardon (bio) Bruce J. Dickson. Red Capitalists in China: The Party, Private Entrepreneurs, and Prospects for Political Change. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. x, 187 pp. Hardcover $65.00, ISBN 0-521-81817-6. Paperback $23.00, 0-521-52143-2. Since Deng Xiaoping pushed forward the dramatic economic changes of the late 1970s, Western observers have speculated about the true nature of China's economic reforms and their implications for political change. During the 1980 s, Western pundits were all too eager to proclaim that the market-opening strategies would unleash the democratic aspirations of the Chinese people. Yet, with the destruction of the 1989 "Goddess of Democracy" in Tiananmen Square, such pundits had to acknowledge the continued ability of the Communist Party to maintain control of the state. During the 1990s, many Westerners hoped that the emergence of a new civil society led by the newly empowered Chinese business class would help transform China into a democracy. While avoiding whether such a civil society is emerging in China today, Bruce J. Dickson pursues in this book the more fundamental question concerning the linkage between civil society and democracy. Reaffirming findings by other China scholars, Dickson uses extensive field surveys to argue that China's new capitalists are "red." In other words, these businesspeople are not catalysts for democratic change, but are partnering with the state in order to pursue what is in their mutual self-interest: economic development. Previous studies of entrepreneurs have focused on elite attitudes, particular associations, or economic sectors; other studies have failed to support their argument with substantial evidence. Employing survey teams from Peking University's Research Center for Contemporary China (RCCC), Dickson analyzed data gathered from eight counties in Zhejiang, Shandong, Hebei, and Hunan during the fall of 1997 and spring of 1999. Altogether, the RCCC team collected data from 524 private entrepreneurs and 230 local Party and government cadre. County officials invited the selected entrepreneurs to meetings to fill out the survey; in certain cases, local government cadre actually delivered the questionnaires to individual entrepreneurs and returned them on the same day (p. 87). While it is difficult to assess the influence of local government participation on survey results, the cooperation between the RCCC and Western academics continues to bode well for China survey research. Dickson's own survey research constitutes the core strength of his analysis and is why Dickson's work makes a strong contribution to the literature on China's entrepreneurs. Continuing his previous work on Leninist party regimes, Dickson describes how the Chinese Communist Party has become a party of inclusion, culminating [End Page 322] with the July 1, 2001, announcement that private entrepreneurs once again could join the Communist Party. To control these new forces, the Party resorted to corporatist strategies of control by establishing trade and business associations that are noncritical of the Party. Members embrace the close relationship between the association and the state; they oftentimes turn to the state to resolve problems. Instead of a utilitarian relationship where relationships (guanxi) and connections (menhu) are of primary importance, private entrepreneurs and officials see a fusion between self-interest and public interest; what is good for business is good for the community. Confirming Pearson's previous work,1 the Party and the associations share the common goal of economic and not political reform. Dickson arrives at his findings by first describing the impact of two decades of economic reform on the Party and its recruitment schemes. Not surprisingly, the reforms had a deleterious effect on the Leninist system of control. Party members had difficulty upholding Party principles in the face of the competing needs of the marketplace. Whereas the Party dominated the command economy of the pre-1980s, the post-Third Plenum economic reforms resulted in the downsizing or closure of the SOEs, which mandated the layoff of workers, including Party members. The Party had little success in establishing cells in the vibrant non-SOE sectors, especially among the self-employed laborers (getihu), in the township village enterprises (TVEs), and the foreign joint ventures. To co-opt the...

China and Russia: On the Rise and Decline of Two Nations

In the late 1970s, the economic size ratio between the Soviet Union and China was 4 to 1. In 2001, the ratio between Russia and China was less than 1 to 4, or even less than 1 to 5, if one includes Hong Kong with China. Although the collapse and dissolution of the Soviet Union contributed to this profound reversal of economic strength, domestic factors have been more important: decollectivization of Chinese agriculture versus an unwillingness to reform in Russia, the establishment of township village enterprises in China versus an extremely weak small and medium enterprise sector in Russia, economic openness and market-preserving federalism in China versus limited participation in globalization and confused federalism in Russia. Although Russia was faster than China in privatizing state-owned enterprises, the preferential treatment of insiders and the weakness of the rule of law or functional substitutes for it neutralized this potential Russian advantage. The strength and character of Chinese nationalism might also help it to outgrow Russia. While the rise of China and the corresponding power transitions imply security risks, reinforced by China's central geopolitical location, there are also opportunities, because of the pacifying impact of free trade and globalization and prospects for democratization. By trade China might become prosperous and, ultimately, even democratic. In the long run, a "capitalist peace" between China, Russia, and the West is conceivable.

Lessons from the Rise and (Possible) Fall of Chinese Township-Village Enterprises

The success of Chinese township-village enterprises (TVEs) poses a puzzle for a property rights approach to the theory of the firm, since no one really holds well-defined, transferable property rights to control and claim the residual profits of TVEs. TVEs also pose a second puzzle: in the last five or seven years, they have started to experience serious problems, despite reforms which have improved TVEs from a property rights perspective. This paper takes ideas from property rights and institutional approaches to economics and examines whether those ideas can help explain both of these puzzles. As to the first puzzle, reforms in the seventies and eighties created product market competition and gave local governmental officials and TVE managers enough of a stake in the success of the enterprises to encourage investment in them. TVEs were less imperfect than their leading alternatives, state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, the latter of which faced much discrimination. As to the second puzzle, although property rights reforms have improved TVE performance, reforms reducing the discrimination against private enterprises have made them more attractive. The paper also draws four general lessons from the TVE experience about the relationship between property rights and economic development. First, defining property rights properly is important to development, but other institutions (e.g. norms, financial institutions, capital markets, labor markets, political structure) are also quite important. Second, would-be reformers need to carefully consider the political constraints facing proposed changes in property rights. Third, property rights reforms are at least as much the effect of economic development as they are its cause. Fourth, the development path followed may affect the end states which can be feasibly reached.

Trust and decision‐making styles in Chinese township‐village enterprises

Employee participation enhances organizational effectiveness. Trust in employees leads to encouragement and acceptance of participation in decision making. There has been recent and growing interest in understanding the basic characteristics of managerial mechanisms within township‐village enterprises (TVEs) in China and how these affect organizational performance. This empirical study investigates how trust influences managers’ decision‐making behavior in the township‐village enterprises in China. The findings of the study suggest that, although TVE managers develop a high level of trust in the dependability, predictability and good faith of their employees, only trust in employee dependability is positively related to participation in the decision‐making process.

Rent Seeking and Government Ownership of Firms: An Application to China's Township-Village Enterprises

Using its control of regulated inputs, a government agency extracts rents from a manager who undertakes an investment. Such government rent-seeking activity leads to a typical hold-up problem. Government ownership serves as a second-best commitment mechanism, through which the government agency will restrain itself from the rent-seeking activity and may even offer the manager assistance in the form of tax breaks and subsidies. This mechanism works at a cost, however, as government ownership also compromises ex post managerial incentives and creates distortion in resource allocation. Nevertheless, government ownership Pareto dominates private ownership under certain conditions. These conditions correspond to a host of stylized empirical observations concerning local government-owned firms, i.e., township-village enterprises, during China's transition to a market economy.

A REVISIONIST VIEW OF CHINESE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY?

Although productivity increased during the initial Chinese agricultural reforms, there is less clarity about subsequent reform efforts. Several studies find that productivity growth either slowed or stopped in the mid‐1980s, but these studies use official labor statistics that indicate an increasing farm labor force during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Using an alternative calculation of China's farm labor force showing a decrease in agricultural labor, this article reexamines the data on Chinese agricultural productivity and notes that the changes in productivity appear to correlate to changes in economic policies.

Rent Seeking and Government Ownership of Firms: An Application to China's Township–Village Enterprises

Using its control of regulated inputs, a government agency extracts rents from a manager who undertakes an investment. Such government rent-seeking activity leads to a typical hold-up problem. Government ownership serves as a second-best commitment mechanism, through which the government agency will restrain itself from the rent-seeking activity and may even offer the manager assistance in the form of tax breaks and subsidies. This mechanism works at a cost, however, as government ownership also compromises ex post managerial incentives and creates distortion in resource allocation. Nevertheless, government ownership Pareto dominates private ownership under certain conditions. These conditions correspond to a host of stylized empirical observations concerning local-government-owned firms, i.e., township–village enterprises, during China's transition to a market economy. J. Comp. Econ., June 2002 30(4), pp. 787–811. Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, 328 David Kinley Hall, Urbana, Illinois 61801. © 2002 Association for Comparative Economic Studies. Published by Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D23, D72, L33.

The Transition to Capitalism in China and Russia

AbstractAt the end of the 1970s the per capita income ratio between the Soviet Union and China was 16 to 1. By now, the gap between Russia and China is closing rapidly. Although the collapse and dissolution of the Soviet Union contributed to this levelling of per capita incomes, domestic factors and improvements in China look more important: decollectivization of Chinese agriculture, the establishment of township village enterprises in China, economic openness and market-preserving federalism in China. In all these respects, even post-Soviet Russia continues to lag. Admittedly, Russia was faster than China in privatizing state owned enterprises but the preferential treatment of insiders and the weakness of the rule of law or functional substitutes for it neutralized this potential Russian advantage.