From Predator to Debtor
The Soft Budget Constraint and Semi-Planned Administration in Rural China
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6008484 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yia-Ling Liu (National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 308-345 |
| Publication date | 2012-05-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Modern China (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0097-7004 • E-ISSN: 1552-6836 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0097700411432674 |
| OpenAlex | W2148221735 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 33 |
This article explores the institutions of the Chinese semi-planned administration under which the grassroots role of debtors has loomed large and made possible the transition of grassroots cadres from predators to debtors. The institutional features of the semi-panned administration—the institution of target responsibility, the legacy of cost shifting, and the paternalistic care provided by the socialist state—together with related policy measures explain the pathology of budget deficits and debt problems at the grassroots level across rural China. An investigation into the public finances of grassroots governments in Wenzhou, Wuxi, and Jianshi illuminates how the Chinese semi-planned administration has shaped individual cadres’ calculations and behavior, perpetuated their irresponsible spending, and reproduced local soft budget constraints. This article argues that without an outright revamping of the institutions of the Chinese semi-planned administration, the current practice of simply writing off rural debt through financial bailouts perpetuates soft budget constraints across the countryside
Administration (probate law · China · Debt · Economic growth · Economics · Grassroots · Institution · Paternalism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Chinese history and philosophy · Finance · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Law · Public Administration
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Strong Societies and Weak States
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Rightful Resistance in Rural China
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Taxation without Representation in Contemporary Rural China
State Capacity and Local Agent Control in China
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Reform from Below
Reforming the State
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Taxation and Governmental Finance in Sixteenth-Century Ming China
Of Rule and Revenue
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The socialist system
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States and Social Revolutions
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| Citations per year | 0.45 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2015 - 2021 (7) |
| Highly cited | No |