The statistical agency in China's bureaucratic system A Comparison with the former Soviet Union

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6180799
AutoresYasheng Huang (0000-0003-0183-6312, University of Michigan, autor de correspondencia)
Año1996
Volumen29
Número1
Páginas59-75
Fecha de publicación1996-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCommunist and Post-Communist Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0967-067X • E-ISSN: 1873-6920
EditorialUniversity of California Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1016/s0967-067x(96)80012-2
OpenAlexW2024943901
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas23

Although Chinese statistics are widely used in economic analysis, very little is known about the institutions and procedures involved in statistical collection. This essay focuses on the institutional aspects of the specialized statistical agency in China—the State Statistical Bureau (SSB)—and draws inferences about its operations by comparing the Chinese and Soviet statistical agencies. The article finds considerable differences between the Chinese and Soviet statistical agencies despite their common origins and despite the similar functions they performed in economic planning. These institutional differences are traced to the differences in the way the two economies were organized. The Chinese economy was organized on a territorial basis whereas the Soviet economy was organized on a ministerial basis. A territorial system has a lower demand for economic information at the central level whereas a ministerial system increases such a demand. Other factors, such as the political shocks experienced by the two countries, are also important

Bureaucracy · China · Economic system · Economics · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Soviet union · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Law