"The book conducts a comprehensive study on urbanization and the development of cities in China. It provides detailed and systematic evidence on agglomeration effects on the urban labor market and industrial development. It studies the impact of economic agglomeration on the urban labor market and industrial development. It concludes that agglomeration will not only promote employment and incomes for workers, but also accelerate the growth of manufacturing and service industries. This book emphasizes the importance of increasing economic agglomeration and encouraging the free flow of production factors across regions in achieving coordinated development among regions. This book also provides policy implications to other developing countries in its conclusion."
Under President Xi Jinping, the strengthening of the Chinese Communist Party's political control occurs in conjunction with an evolving administrative role for government-affiliated associations. Analysing associations that are subordinate within China's strict hierarchy but which have degrees of operational freedom yields insights into the changing nature of public service and administration in China. Evidence from 63 interviews conducted from 2018 to 2022 with government departments and affiliated associations in the education sector reveals the complexity of state control and degrees of constrained autonomy achieved by affiliated associations. The government exerts control over financing, personnel appointments and core business activities but, over time, associations gain varying degrees of operational autonomy to influence the education agenda and fill gaps in public services. The interdependency and relational variance we find in the case of Ministry of Education-affiliated associations contributes to broader understandings of the complex and fragmentary nature of the Chinese state and public administration. (China Q / GIGA)
Evidence from Gansu, Hunan, Shandong, and Yunnan provinces shows that subnational authorities in China draw on personal relations to alleviate poverty and legitimize their rule. Through an invasive process of claiming kin, local government officials are required to sign kinship contracts with poor households. The contract links bureaucratic performance reviews to tangible outcomes, creating new incentives and pressures for officials to help lift their adopted families out of poverty. The general aspiration may be to improve bureaucratic processes by establishing direct, transparent connections between state and society, however the authors contend that the invasive and personalized nature of the kinship policy risks disrupting the existing social order and complicating local poverty relief efforts, leading to local variance, extortion and other irregularities. (J Contemp China/GIGA)
In this article, we examine the administrative functions that have been carried out by social organizations (SOs) in China since 2013. We use evidence from Guangdong to demonstrate that the transfer of authority to SOs is selective, tends to create more burdens for local government, and generally does not lead to greater autonomy for SOs. We focus on five types of SOs that are undertaking new administrative functions with varying degrees of operational autonomy, which relates to the consultative authoritarian model proposed by Jessica Teets. Consultative authoritarianism allows for the expansion of relatively autonomous SOs and the development of indirect state control mechanisms. The model is designed to improve governance without democratization by expanding the role played by intermediaries such as SOs in public administration and service delivery. The evidence from Guangdong permits us to conclude that the transfer of authority to SOs allows for innovations in public administration, but that politics continues to motivate government decisions as to which functions are suitable for SOs to undertake, casting doubt on the ability of the Chinese Communist Party to achieve sustainable improvements in local governance and public service provision. (China Q/GIGA)
Abstract.After "opening up" in 1978, China followed a development strategy that has led to internal and external economic imbalances, especially since its labour market reform of the mid‐1990s and the resulting surge in rural‐to‐urban migration. Low labour costs emerged as its main comparative advantage, but its over‐reliance on exports for growth was starkly exposed by the global economic crisis of 2008. This, coupled with widening income disparities, could jeopardize the sustainability of China's growth unless it adjusts its reform and development strategies to promote income equality and domestic consumption. The Employment Contract Law in force since 2008 could signal institutional change in the right direction.
Résumé.Après «l'ouverture» du pays en 1978, le mode de développement adopté par la Chine a induit des déséquilibres économiques sur les plans internes et externes, surtout depuis la réforme du marché du travail au milieu des années 1990, et l'exode rural qui a suivi. L'avantage comparatif de la Chine tient à ses faibles coûts du travail, mais sa forte dépendance des exportations et les inégalités de revenus ont rendu sa croissance vulnérable face à la crise économique de 2008. Pour soutenir sa croissance économique, la Chine doit adapter ses stratégies de réforme et de développement, afin de promouvoir l'égalité des revenus et la consommation intérieure. La loi sur le contrat de travail, en vigueur depuis 2008, pourrait marquer une évolution institutionnelle dans la bonne direction.
Resumen.Desde su apertura económica de 1978, China sigue una estrategia de desarrollo que causa desequilibrios internos y externos, sobre todo a partir de la reforma laboral realizada en el decenio de 1990, que impulsó la migración del campo a la ciudad. El trabajo barato se convirtió en la gran baza de la economía nacional, pero la crisis económica mundial de 2008 puso crudamente de manifiesto que ésta dependía en demasía de las exportaciones. Este factor, unido al agravamiento de las disparidades de ingresos, puede poner en peligro el crecimiento del país a no ser que se ajusten las estrategias de reforma y desarrollo a fin de fomentar la igualación de los ingresos y el consumo interno. La Ley del Contrato de Trabajo promulgada en 2008 podría entrañar un cambio por el buen camino.
AbstractObjectiveThis study aimed to bridge the gap between occupational psychology and family psychology by exploring whether and how social connections in the workplace can lead to changes in family relations.BackgroundAmid intensified competition, workplace ostracism has become prevalent. However, its negative impacts on children, a vulnerable group within the family, have been largely neglected.MethodA cross‐sectional survey was conducted on a sample of 673 working parents from multiple companies, along with their children. This enabled us to examine the impacts of workplace ostracism on the parent–child relationship based on both parents' and children's data, with a specific focus on the mediating role of emotional exhaustion.ResultsThe consistent findings obtained from parents' and children's relationship ratings revealed that parents' reported workplace ostracism predicted parent–child conflict positively and parent–child closeness negatively. Parents' emotional exhaustion only partially mediated the relationship between workplace ostracism and parent–child conflict, whereas its mediation effect between workplace ostracism and parent–child closeness was found to be insignificant.ConclusionThe spillover effect of workplace ostracism can exacerbate conflicts and reduce closeness between parents and their children. Emotional exhaustion acts as the underlying mechanism linking workplace ostracism to conflict but not to closeness.ImplicationsPrograms designed to foster better intraorganizational relationships and promote individual emotion regulation skills may ultimately benefit family harmony.
As the main provider of medical services for the general public, the productivity changes of public hospitals directly reflect the development of the healthcare system and the implementation effect of medical reform policies. Using the dataset of 126 public hospitals in China from 2013 to 2018, this paper improves the existing literature in both index selection and model formulation, and examines public hospitals' total factor productivity (TFP) growth. Empirical results not only demonstrate the trend of productivity development but also point out the directions in how to improve the current running status. Our study demonstrates that there were no obvious productivity fluctuations in public hospitals during the recent observing years, indicating that the performance of China's public health system was generally acceptable in coping with fast-growing medical demand. However, the effect of public hospital reform has not been remarkably shown; thus, no significant productivity improvement was observed in most hospitals. Tertiary hospitals witnessed a slight declining trend in TFP, while secondary hospitals showed signs of rising TFP. To effectively enhance the overall performance of public hospitals in China, practical suggestions are proposed from the government and hospital levels to further promote the graded medical treatment system.
