英文目录与摘要
2023-02-09
●SYSPOSIUM:GovernmentBehaviorunderthePerspectiveofModernizationofGovernance
Introduction:Between Organization and Governance:Initiative Mechanisms in Local Governance
Tianguang Meng
The Strategies and Logics of Performing Routine Tasks in Grassroots Governments:A Case Study of Afforestation in County A
Meng Tang &Tianguang Meng
AbstractThe routine task provides a window to the rationalized operation of the government. Previous studies focus on the central tasks,principal officials,and unusual circumstances.What is lacking is attention to the routine tasks,ordinary officials,and daily processes. Based on the theory of government behaviors,this article presents fieldwork conducted in County A that observed the how and the why a routine task was performed in the absence of resources and principal officials’attention. We found that the strategies for a routine task were similar to those for a central task. County A’s forestry department performed routine tasks by increasing task sizes,supervising,or inspecting work,and attempting a one-vote veto. At the same time,the department motivated township governments through salaries,performance scoring,and honors. But there are some limits in the process. A surge in task loads did not bring about the aggregation of resources. Supervision and inspection did not result in strong accountability. And the intensity of incentives was not very high. Guanxi became an informal strategy for task performance. The performance of routine tasks is embedded in a bureaucratic organization with a multi-task context,following the logic of assessment-driven relations,technocrats’ self-fulfillment,and task relevance. Unlike previous studies that highlight central tasks,personalized factors,and the shortcomings of the bureaucracy,this article extends the analysis of government behaviors to routine tasks,demonstrates the positive effects of rationalized factors in the bureaucratic organization,and further uncovers the “black box” of the normalized operation of local governments.
KeyWordsGrassroots Governments;Routine Tasks;Government Behaviors;Bureaucracy
The Task Driven-Task Force and a Practical Logic for Local Flexible Governance:A Case Comparison of Four Types of Task Forces in B City
Ping Li
AbstractThe promotion of key tasks through task forces is a typical mechanism of local flexible governance. Driven by specific tasks,government departments integrate personnel,establish diversified task forces,and build new task teams based on the existing bureaucratic system,which can improve the flexibility of local governance. This paper constructs a theoretical framework of “task driven-task force”,analyzes the mechanism of flexible governance as promoted through a task force,and distinguishes four types of task forces based on the differences in task attributes and member boundaries:project cooperation,platform sharing,personnel transfer,and department integration. Four task forces in the field of urban governance in B city were selected to carry out a comparative study. It was found that the cross-sector task forces absorbed the participation of relevant subjects outside the government;their organizational structures were highly variable. Inter-departmental task forces were composed of governmental subjects only;their organizational structures were more stable. In addition,single-subject task forces had a higher degree of flattening,only undertaking executive functions,and dissolved after completing the task. Compound task forces had hierarchical features,undertaking dual functions of decision-making and execution,and continuously advancing sub tasks at each stage. The common logic of all the task forces had the following attributes:“collaborative community”,“high-efficiency team” and “interactive network”.This allowed the task forces to switch flexibly in different scenarios.This article reveals the practical logic of flexible governance by analyzing task force operations and provides inspiration and ideas for improving the effectiveness of local governance.
KeyWordsTask Force;Task-Based Organization;Flexible Governance;Local Governance
Tournament for Governance:How the “Tournament of Attainment” Drive Effective Governance
Fangcheng Yuan &Yue Wang
AbstractThe “Promotion Tournament” serves as an important incentive tool for promoting rapid local economic growth. However,excessive emphasis on this indicator has led to incentive distortions in goal setting,resulting in ineffective social governance and an inability to meet the needs of comprehensive development in various areas. This paper focuses on how the “Tournament of Attainment” mechanism can enhance the governance effectiveness in non-economic domains. By analyzing the policy text and practical experience of the “Creation of National Civilized Cities” initiative,we found that the “Creation of Cities” takes the “Attainment” of comprehensive governance indicators as a constraint for local performance appraisal,prompting localities to carry out the “Tournament of Attainment” in the governance of non-economic areas. Different from the “Promotion Tournament”,which incentivizes competition for a single economic growth target,the “Tournament of Attainment” takes setting clear targets and multi-target incentive mechanisms as a guide to consider the “bottom-line” standardization requirements of various fields of development while also pursuing economic performance. Through the benchmarking of rules and the monitoring of the bottom line,the local multi-dimensional performance appraisal system will be improved and the governance behavior will be effectively restrained.This will reduce the negative effects of incentive distortion,motivation exhaustion and action bias,that may arise from the “Promotion Tournament”,and thereby lead to more effective governance. This paper responds to contemporary perspectives on “The Governance of China” under the strategic orientation of national governance modernization. It also provides new analytical concepts,ideas,and experiences that can contribute to the central government’s drive for local governments to achieve governance objectives in non-economic areas and thereby achieve balanced development in multiple areas of social governance.
KeyWordsPromotion Tournament;Tournament of Attainment;Social Governance;Creation of National Civilized Cities
●ARTICLES
Recent Research on Chinese Policy Implementation:A Comparative Analysis from Multiple Perspectives
Huang Ding &Shaohua Wei
AbstractAlthough the proliferation of different theoretical perspectives has become a highlight of research on Chinese policy implementation in recent years,there has not been a critical review of this work. This paper examines the main literature on Chinese policy implementation in recent years from the perspective of organizational economics,political analysis,and social networks.It focuses on and compares the important analytical concepts,theoretical models,and research ideas,as well as their contributions and deficiencies. As an important research field in public administration,research on China’s policy implementation still has room for further advancement. Based on this review,this paper suggests several avenues for future research. First,researchers can start with the analytical concepts,ideas,and methods provided by three theoretical perspectives,and more actively explore the possibility of connection and dialogue between these studies. Second,future research should focus on the full integration of theory into practice and support the country’s governance supply with sufficient theoretical supply. This paper presents the key research work and overall picture in the field of Chinese policy implementation to provide a basis for the research in this field that can be promoted and debated.
KeyWordsChinese Policy Implementation;Organizational Economics Perspective;Political Analysis Perspective;Social Network Perspective;Recent Research
How Can Multi-identity Policy Entrepreneurs Drive Policy Innovation?Case Study on G City’s Social Governance of Environment
Min Ren &Linhang Xu
AbstractMultiple identities,as an emerging feature of policy entrepreneurs,play a positive role in successful policy innovation. The multiple identities of policy entrepreneurs come from the superposition of their political identities inside the system and their social identities outside the system and their adoption the strategy of responsive action to exert influence on policy innovation. Based on the core proposition of “How the multiple identities of policy entrepreneurs influence and promote policy innovation”,this paper constructs an analytical framework of “Multiple identities-institutional space-action strategies” and examines the relationship between the three. The findings are as follows:(1)the political and social identities of policy entrepreneurs result in the accumulation of role resources of “Politics,technology,organization,and relationships”;(2)the role resources carried by multiple identities play a shaping role in the institutional space,which is embodied in “Expanding the boundary of behavior,broadening the organizational structure,breaking the dependence on innovation and breaking the knowledge barrier”;and,(3)appropriate institutional space promotes the choice of action strategies of policy entrepreneurs,“Cross-institutional flow,Building Policy Community,knowledge input and institutional output” comprise the key strategy to achieve policy innovation. In the innovation process of dual river chief and the non-confrontational social environment governance model,the relationship among multiple identities,institutional space,and action strategies was verified,and the positive effect of multiple identities on policy innovation was confirmed.
KeyWordsMultiple Identities;Institutional Space;Action Strategy;Policy Entrepreneur;Policy Innovation;Social Governance of Environment
The Relationship Between Traits of Leader and Policy Innovation Diffusion in the Chinese Context:A Meta-analysis
Hong Wen &Fengshan Li
AbstractCurrent academic perceptions of the relationship between local leader traits and the diffusion of policy innovations remain widely divergent,and the research findings are mixed. This study used meta-analysis to test the integrality of 49 pieces of quantitative literature in English and Chinese,with a total of 107 effect sizes and 12,044 samples,in the Chinese context,to examine the effects of age,tenure,educational attainment,source of tenure,and administrative level of local leaders on the diffusion of policy innovations. The findings indicate that (1)tenure,source of tenure,and administrative rank exhibit positive effects on policy innovation diffusion,whereas the relationship between age,education,and policy innovation diffusion is not statistically significant. (2)Policy type serves as a moderator between local leaders’ traits and policy innovation diffusion,while the moderating effects of publication attributes and leadership choice are not statistically significant. These results caution against the empirical findings of existing studies on the effects of local leader traits on the diffusion of policy innovations. Furthermore,this study suggests a need for caution in formulating research hypotheses pertaining to the relationships among these variables in subsequent studies on policy innovation diffusion.This study is the first to use meta-analysis to test the relationship between local leaders’ traits and policy innovation diffusion in the Chinese context,thereby contributing a directional consensus on the perceived divergence in the relationship between the two. This helps provide theoretical guidelines for subsequent studies exploring the relationship between policy innovation diffusion and other variables. This study also provides a reference for the top-level design of policy innovation diffusion.
KeyWordsPolicy Innovation Diffusion;Traits of Leader;Meta-Analysis;Chinese Context
The Effect of Nudge in the Field of Energy Conservation:A Meta-analysis Based on Experimental Studies
Xuemei Fang,Yuchen Gao &Song Chen
AbstractNudge has been widely used in the field of energy conservation in recent years due to its low cost and easy operation. However,its effectiveness has also been questioned by some scholars. This study used meta-analysis technology to conduct a systematic analysis of 55 experimental studies published in both Chinese and English from 2008 to 2022.The aim was to explore the effectiveness of nudge in the field of energy conservation and identify potential variables that may affect its effectiveness. Results of the meta-analysis are as follows:(1)Nudge in the field of energy conservation has a significant intervention effect,which can reduce the actual energy consumption of intervention subjects. (2)Nudge strategies,intervention duration,and intervention frequency have a significant moderating effect on nudge in the field of energy conservation. However,it shows no significant moderating effect in the specific energy-saving areas. Overall,the effect of using a feedback strategy is the best,and the impact of nudge is gradually weakened with the increase of intervention duration and the decrease of intervention frequency. This study responds to the academic controversy around this topic as well as clarifies the main reasons for the heterogeneity of the effect of nudge in the field of energy conservation. It also has important value for our government and relevant departments to better formulate policies and measures to guide energy-saving behavior.
KeyWordsNudge;Energy Conservation;Environmental Protection;Meta-analysis
How Are Philanthropic Behaviors Transmitted?The Multiple Institutional Logics of Beneficiaries’ Philanthropic Behaviors
Yongjiao Yang &Tong Wang
AbstractCollaboration,broad participation,and benefiting all are essential to promote substantial progress towards Common Prosperity. It leads to the need to explore the recipient-to-giver transformation from the perspective of the beneficiaries,thereby achieving a sustainable transmission of philanthropic behavior. This paper investigated the impact of aid experience on recipients’ philanthropic behavior based on the CFPS data from a theoretical perspective of institutional logics. Analysis results revealed that aid experiences had a significant and negative effect on recipients’ charitable giving behavior;regarding specific forms of aid,there was a significant and negative effect of government assistance on recipients’ charitable giving behavior,while there was no significant effect of charitable assistance and mixed assistance on recipients’ charitable giving. The results provide an implication for establishing a coordinated government-philanthropy social assistance system,which is helpful for addressing the challenge of sustainable transmission of beneficiaries’ philanthropic behavior,in order to promote Common Prosperity.
KeyWordsAid;Philanthropic Behavior;Institutional Logics;Common Prosperity
Public Participation Behavior,Social Class Attributes and the Perception of Equalization of Basic Public Services:A Moderated Mediation Model
Shixiang Chen,Wei Zhou &Zhijie Lyu
AbstractThe public perception of the equalization of basic services is the public’s intuitive perception of the implementation effect of such a policy.It is a subjective feeling based on objective acquisition.But it is also the benchmark of good governance and good governance of national governance. From the perspective of public subjective perception,based on questionnaire survey data of Hubei Province,the Bootstrap method was used to analyze the influence of public participation behavior and social class attributes on the perception of equalization of basic public services,focusing on the mediating effect of administrative burden and the moderating role of government image. It was found that public participation behavior had a significant positive impact on the perception of equalization of basic public services,and social class attributes had a significant negative impact on the perception of equalization. There was a mediating effect between administrative burden and public participation and the perception of equality. Government image played a moderating role between public participation and perception of equalization,and between social class attributes and perception of equalization. The results show that,while it is necessary to enhance public participation and consider the service needs of the public of different social classes,it is also necessary to reduce the administrative burden and improve the image of the government and thereby improve the perception of the equalization of basic public services.
KeyWordsEqualization of Basic Public Services;Public Participation Behavior;Social Class Attribute;Administrative Burden;Government Image
●BOOKREVIEWS
Building a Theory of Reinventing Government Adapting to the Digital Era:A Review of Reinventing Government in the Digital Era
Bin Xiao &Te Liu