Martin Loughlin
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198260158
- eISBN:
- 9780191682049
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198260158.003.0008
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This chapter examines a number of issues which arise as a result of transformation in the role of law in central-local government relations. It also examines the utilization of legislation as an ...
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This chapter examines a number of issues which arise as a result of transformation in the role of law in central-local government relations. It also examines the utilization of legislation as an instrument of regulation and of adjudication as a primary mechanism of dispute resolution. It also considers some general questions concerning politics, law, and governance.Less
This chapter examines a number of issues which arise as a result of transformation in the role of law in central-local government relations. It also examines the utilization of legislation as an instrument of regulation and of adjudication as a primary mechanism of dispute resolution. It also considers some general questions concerning politics, law, and governance.
Martin Loughlin
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198260158
- eISBN:
- 9780191682049
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198260158.003.0004
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This chapter examines municipal socialism, an exercise which resulted in Labour councils developing collectivistic policies which were in direct antagonism to those being promoted by central ...
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This chapter examines municipal socialism, an exercise which resulted in Labour councils developing collectivistic policies which were in direct antagonism to those being promoted by central government during the 1980s. The emergence of municipal socialism highlights the relationship between law and convention in the conduct of local government business. It also reveals much of interest about the nature of the conflict in central-local relations during the 1980s. Since many of the practices of municipal socialist authorities were directly antagonistic to the policies being promoted by the central government, an examination of the disputes which arose may provide some insight not only into the sphere of autonomous action possessed by local government and of the centre's willingness to tolerate difference and diversity within the system but also of the government's capacity to dictate compliance with central prescription.Less
This chapter examines municipal socialism, an exercise which resulted in Labour councils developing collectivistic policies which were in direct antagonism to those being promoted by central government during the 1980s. The emergence of municipal socialism highlights the relationship between law and convention in the conduct of local government business. It also reveals much of interest about the nature of the conflict in central-local relations during the 1980s. Since many of the practices of municipal socialist authorities were directly antagonistic to the policies being promoted by the central government, an examination of the disputes which arose may provide some insight not only into the sphere of autonomous action possessed by local government and of the centre's willingness to tolerate difference and diversity within the system but also of the government's capacity to dictate compliance with central prescription.
Jae Ho Chung
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231176200
- eISBN:
- 9780231540681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231176200.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Assesses the impact of post-Mao decentralization on central-local relations and concludes that the former has not necessarily or uniformly favored localities at the expense of central control.
Assesses the impact of post-Mao decentralization on central-local relations and concludes that the former has not necessarily or uniformly favored localities at the expense of central control.
Jae Ho Chung
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231176200
- eISBN:
- 9780231540681
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231176200.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Despite the destabilizing potential of governing of a vast territory and a large multicultural population, the centralized government of the People’s Republic of China has held together for decades, ...
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Despite the destabilizing potential of governing of a vast territory and a large multicultural population, the centralized government of the People’s Republic of China has held together for decades, resisting efforts at local autonomy. By analyzing Beijing’s strategies for maintaining control even in the reformist post-Mao era, Centrifugal Empire reveals the unique thinking behind China’s approach to local governance, its historical roots, and its deflection of divergent interests. Centrifugal Empire examines the logic, mode, and instrument of local governance established by the People’s Republic, and then compares the current system to the practices of its dynastic predecessors. The result is an expansive portrait of Chinese leaders’ attitudes toward regional autonomy and local challenges, one concerned with territory-specific preoccupations and manifesting in constant searches for an optimal design of control. Jae Ho Chung reveals how current communist instruments of local governance echo imperial institutions, while exposing the Leninist regime’s savvy adaptation to contemporary issues and its need for more sophisticated inter-local networks to keep its unitary rule intact. He casts the challenges to China’s central–local relations as perennial, since the dilution of the system’s “socialist” or “Communist” character will only accentuate its fundamentally Chinese—or centrifugal—nature.Less
Despite the destabilizing potential of governing of a vast territory and a large multicultural population, the centralized government of the People’s Republic of China has held together for decades, resisting efforts at local autonomy. By analyzing Beijing’s strategies for maintaining control even in the reformist post-Mao era, Centrifugal Empire reveals the unique thinking behind China’s approach to local governance, its historical roots, and its deflection of divergent interests. Centrifugal Empire examines the logic, mode, and instrument of local governance established by the People’s Republic, and then compares the current system to the practices of its dynastic predecessors. The result is an expansive portrait of Chinese leaders’ attitudes toward regional autonomy and local challenges, one concerned with territory-specific preoccupations and manifesting in constant searches for an optimal design of control. Jae Ho Chung reveals how current communist instruments of local governance echo imperial institutions, while exposing the Leninist regime’s savvy adaptation to contemporary issues and its need for more sophisticated inter-local networks to keep its unitary rule intact. He casts the challenges to China’s central–local relations as perennial, since the dilution of the system’s “socialist” or “Communist” character will only accentuate its fundamentally Chinese—or centrifugal—nature.
Martin Loughlin
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198260158
- eISBN:
- 9780191682049
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198260158.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This book seeks to trace the main dimensions of recent conflicts between central departments of governments and local authorities and to reveal something of their significance. It does so by focusing ...
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This book seeks to trace the main dimensions of recent conflicts between central departments of governments and local authorities and to reveal something of their significance. It does so by focusing on the role of law in shaping the central-local government relations, which is neglected in many contemporary studies and yet is of vital importance in identifying the character of that relationship. Precisely why they should be so is not self-evident. One significant aspect of the study is the identification of a process of juridification which is only gradually becoming clear. This has not only been a major undertaking, it has also been a highly complex, ambiguous, confusing, and frustrating activity. This has caused problems for government and for the judiciary and not surprisingly there have been expressions of discomfort on all sides. This book helps to explain where the process may have gone wrong and why ultimately it may be an objective that cannot be realised. Ultimately, the book seeks to demonstrate that the issues raised by the government of central-local relations transcend the institution of local government and are directly linked to the system of parliamentary democracy. Furthermore the book argues that the system of central-local government relations has evolved in such a way that it reveals a great deal about the tradition of public law in the UK. An examination of these issues through an explication of the themes of legality and locality therefore requires the reader to address basic questions about the nature of contemporary British government.Less
This book seeks to trace the main dimensions of recent conflicts between central departments of governments and local authorities and to reveal something of their significance. It does so by focusing on the role of law in shaping the central-local government relations, which is neglected in many contemporary studies and yet is of vital importance in identifying the character of that relationship. Precisely why they should be so is not self-evident. One significant aspect of the study is the identification of a process of juridification which is only gradually becoming clear. This has not only been a major undertaking, it has also been a highly complex, ambiguous, confusing, and frustrating activity. This has caused problems for government and for the judiciary and not surprisingly there have been expressions of discomfort on all sides. This book helps to explain where the process may have gone wrong and why ultimately it may be an objective that cannot be realised. Ultimately, the book seeks to demonstrate that the issues raised by the government of central-local relations transcend the institution of local government and are directly linked to the system of parliamentary democracy. Furthermore the book argues that the system of central-local government relations has evolved in such a way that it reveals a great deal about the tradition of public law in the UK. An examination of these issues through an explication of the themes of legality and locality therefore requires the reader to address basic questions about the nature of contemporary British government.
Jae Ho Chung
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231176200
- eISBN:
- 9780231540681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231176200.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Offers an epilogue that reflects on the future of China as an emerging empire. It is suggested that the lapse of time will invariably dilute the “socialist” or “Communist” flavor, thereby further ...
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Offers an epilogue that reflects on the future of China as an emerging empire. It is suggested that the lapse of time will invariably dilute the “socialist” or “Communist” flavor, thereby further accentuating the “Chinese” nature of the system.Less
Offers an epilogue that reflects on the future of China as an emerging empire. It is suggested that the lapse of time will invariably dilute the “socialist” or “Communist” flavor, thereby further accentuating the “Chinese” nature of the system.
Jae Ho Chung
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231176200
- eISBN:
- 9780231540681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231176200.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Employs a triple concept of “agents,” “representatives,” and “principals” in illustrating the trajectory in which Chinese leaders' perception of local bureaucracy has evolved over time. It also looks ...
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Employs a triple concept of “agents,” “representatives,” and “principals” in illustrating the trajectory in which Chinese leaders' perception of local bureaucracy has evolved over time. It also looks into Beijing’s perceptions toward the provincial, the prefecture-level, the county-level, and township governments.Less
Employs a triple concept of “agents,” “representatives,” and “principals” in illustrating the trajectory in which Chinese leaders' perception of local bureaucracy has evolved over time. It also looks into Beijing’s perceptions toward the provincial, the prefecture-level, the county-level, and township governments.
Jae Ho Chung
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231176200
- eISBN:
- 9780231540681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231176200.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Suggests that the People’s Republic’s principal mode of local control resembles that of the traditional China more than that of the pre-1949 revolutionary era in terms of preventive mechanisms, ...
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Suggests that the People’s Republic’s principal mode of local control resembles that of the traditional China more than that of the pre-1949 revolutionary era in terms of preventive mechanisms, investigative instruments and tools of suppression,Less
Suggests that the People’s Republic’s principal mode of local control resembles that of the traditional China more than that of the pre-1949 revolutionary era in terms of preventive mechanisms, investigative instruments and tools of suppression,
Jae Ho Chung
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231176200
- eISBN:
- 9780231540681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231176200.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Presupposes that, with other things (i.e., patronage networks and societal demands) being similar among different regions, the level of local discretion permitted in implementation is likely to vary ...
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Presupposes that, with other things (i.e., patronage networks and societal demands) being similar among different regions, the level of local discretion permitted in implementation is likely to vary with different types of policy issues - i.e., policy scope, policy nature, and the degree of urgencyLess
Presupposes that, with other things (i.e., patronage networks and societal demands) being similar among different regions, the level of local discretion permitted in implementation is likely to vary with different types of policy issues - i.e., policy scope, policy nature, and the degree of urgency
Jae Ho Chung
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231176200
- eISBN:
- 9780231540681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231176200.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Poses the question: “Why are Chinese leaders so preoccupied with local governance?” and outlines a framework of analysis.
Poses the question: “Why are Chinese leaders so preoccupied with local governance?” and outlines a framework of analysis.
Jae Ho Chung
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231176200
- eISBN:
- 9780231540681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231176200.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Suggests that whereas Beijing's policy support and centrally-induced horizontal networks were important in the early phases of the reform, the center's resource support and voluntarily-formed lateral ...
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Suggests that whereas Beijing's policy support and centrally-induced horizontal networks were important in the early phases of the reform, the center's resource support and voluntarily-formed lateral linkages have become increasingly crucial in recent years.Less
Suggests that whereas Beijing's policy support and centrally-induced horizontal networks were important in the early phases of the reform, the center's resource support and voluntarily-formed lateral linkages have become increasingly crucial in recent years.
Robert J. Bennett
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199584734
- eISBN:
- 9780191731105
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199584734.003.0008
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History
This chapter provides the first overview of how tensions between local chambers and national bodies were resolved. Early initiatives were a Union of Chambers, the General Chamber of Manufacturers, ...
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This chapter provides the first overview of how tensions between local chambers and national bodies were resolved. Early initiatives were a Union of Chambers, the General Chamber of Manufacturers, and agents in London. The National association for chambers of commerce, established in 1860, was replicated in the chambers of trade, trade protection societies, etc.; and in Ireland in 1923. The chapter shows that these associations were slow to settle down, with many major chambers not joining, and Liverpool prominently leaving after one year. Detailed analysis shows the clash of local independence with attempts to enforce a common view. Tensions continue to the present. The chapter analyses the tussles and different plans. Efforts by the association to improve local chambers have often been resisted; but after 1990 an accreditation and benchmarking system in the UK has been successful, and copied in Ireland and Canada.Less
This chapter provides the first overview of how tensions between local chambers and national bodies were resolved. Early initiatives were a Union of Chambers, the General Chamber of Manufacturers, and agents in London. The National association for chambers of commerce, established in 1860, was replicated in the chambers of trade, trade protection societies, etc.; and in Ireland in 1923. The chapter shows that these associations were slow to settle down, with many major chambers not joining, and Liverpool prominently leaving after one year. Detailed analysis shows the clash of local independence with attempts to enforce a common view. Tensions continue to the present. The chapter analyses the tussles and different plans. Efforts by the association to improve local chambers have often been resisted; but after 1990 an accreditation and benchmarking system in the UK has been successful, and copied in Ireland and Canada.
Lynette H. Ong
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801450624
- eISBN:
- 9780801465956
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801450624.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Asian Politics
This book concludes by providing an update on the reform of China's rural credit cooperatives (RCCs) in the late 2000s, with particular emphasis on the costs of soft-budget constraints and bailouts ...
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This book concludes by providing an update on the reform of China's rural credit cooperatives (RCCs) in the late 2000s, with particular emphasis on the costs of soft-budget constraints and bailouts by the central government. It compares the political–economic dynamics of the rural credit sector with the rise in local-government borrowing and debt as a result of the 2008–2009 fiscal stimulus program. The book situates its findings in the broader theoretical contexts of local development-oriented and predatory states, balance of power in central-local relations, and market-preserving federalism. It argues that the bailouts took place because the RCCs were “too big to fail,” thus creating “moral hazards.” Finally, it draws normative implications for China's development policies and its growth model.Less
This book concludes by providing an update on the reform of China's rural credit cooperatives (RCCs) in the late 2000s, with particular emphasis on the costs of soft-budget constraints and bailouts by the central government. It compares the political–economic dynamics of the rural credit sector with the rise in local-government borrowing and debt as a result of the 2008–2009 fiscal stimulus program. The book situates its findings in the broader theoretical contexts of local development-oriented and predatory states, balance of power in central-local relations, and market-preserving federalism. It argues that the bailouts took place because the RCCs were “too big to fail,” thus creating “moral hazards.” Finally, it draws normative implications for China's development policies and its growth model.
Jae Ho Chung
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231176200
- eISBN:
- 9780231540681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231176200.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Links China’s two-millennium experiences in searching for optimal institutional designs for effective local control with that of the People’s Republic, suggests that the Communist regime is by no ...
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Links China’s two-millennium experiences in searching for optimal institutional designs for effective local control with that of the People’s Republic, suggests that the Communist regime is by no means so much different from its imperial predecessors and probably fares no better on average.Less
Links China’s two-millennium experiences in searching for optimal institutional designs for effective local control with that of the People’s Republic, suggests that the Communist regime is by no means so much different from its imperial predecessors and probably fares no better on average.
Colin Copus, Alasdair Blair, Katarzyna Szmigiel-Rawska, and Michael Dadd
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781447327011
- eISBN:
- 9781447327035
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447327011.003.0013
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Reforming local government is a policy tool of central government when faced with local, national and international pressures for change and this is no more so than in times of political, social and ...
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Reforming local government is a policy tool of central government when faced with local, national and international pressures for change and this is no more so than in times of political, social and economic crisis. The re-design of the institutional architecture of local political decision-making is therefore driven as much by the needs of the centre as by the needs of the localities, with a series of arguments for change propagated by the centre that reflects a set of central policy preferences. Once the shape, size, decision-making process, functions, purpose and tasks of local government are re-designed at the macro level, local political actors are the faced with opportunities for micro-level re-engineering of the systems bequeathed by the centre. The chapter employs the findings of separate research conducted among political leaders in England and Poland to explore how institutional design by central government, aimed at solving one set of policy problems, can energise further local re-design of local political institutions. Central government re-design of local politics can create a pattern of unfinished business which leads to further central interference in the architecture of local politics.Less
Reforming local government is a policy tool of central government when faced with local, national and international pressures for change and this is no more so than in times of political, social and economic crisis. The re-design of the institutional architecture of local political decision-making is therefore driven as much by the needs of the centre as by the needs of the localities, with a series of arguments for change propagated by the centre that reflects a set of central policy preferences. Once the shape, size, decision-making process, functions, purpose and tasks of local government are re-designed at the macro level, local political actors are the faced with opportunities for micro-level re-engineering of the systems bequeathed by the centre. The chapter employs the findings of separate research conducted among political leaders in England and Poland to explore how institutional design by central government, aimed at solving one set of policy problems, can energise further local re-design of local political institutions. Central government re-design of local politics can create a pattern of unfinished business which leads to further central interference in the architecture of local politics.
Marta Arretche
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- June 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190462888
- eISBN:
- 9780190492885
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190462888.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Economy
The chapter provides evidence for the statement that federalism and reducing inequality among jurisdictions can go together, even if policy execution is decentralized, provided that interregional ...
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The chapter provides evidence for the statement that federalism and reducing inequality among jurisdictions can go together, even if policy execution is decentralized, provided that interregional revenue redistribution and centralization of policy decision-making are combined. Data for all Brazilian municipalities spanning 2002 to 2012 on self-generated revenues, fiscal transfers, social policy outputs, and social policy outcomes are shown to give empirical support to the argument. It shows that, in contemporary Brazil, place-inequality in redistributive service policies does not mimic place-inequality in GDP per capita and in concentration of poor people. Instead, local governments' spending on health and education is considerably higher and less unequal due to institutional arrangements put in place by the 1988 Federal Constitution and subsequent reforms. As a result, federal rules limit the full discretion of local governments which in turn limit place-inequality. As such, place-inequality in outputs tends to vary within certain bounded intervals.Less
The chapter provides evidence for the statement that federalism and reducing inequality among jurisdictions can go together, even if policy execution is decentralized, provided that interregional revenue redistribution and centralization of policy decision-making are combined. Data for all Brazilian municipalities spanning 2002 to 2012 on self-generated revenues, fiscal transfers, social policy outputs, and social policy outcomes are shown to give empirical support to the argument. It shows that, in contemporary Brazil, place-inequality in redistributive service policies does not mimic place-inequality in GDP per capita and in concentration of poor people. Instead, local governments' spending on health and education is considerably higher and less unequal due to institutional arrangements put in place by the 1988 Federal Constitution and subsequent reforms. As a result, federal rules limit the full discretion of local governments which in turn limit place-inequality. As such, place-inequality in outputs tends to vary within certain bounded intervals.
Yi Wu
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780824846770
- eISBN:
- 9780824872168
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824846770.003.0008
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
This chapter discusses how the Fuyuan government and its newly established land management institutions control local land resources in the context of the decentralization of China’s fiscal system. ...
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This chapter discusses how the Fuyuan government and its newly established land management institutions control local land resources in the context of the decentralization of China’s fiscal system. It analyzes why the recent political and fiscal reforms set up a contradictory incentive structure for local governments’ land management. Because of the importance of land to the economic development agendas of local governments, local governments have decisively diverged from the central government in their land management, resulting in constant policy adjustments on the part of the central government to bring local governments under control.Less
This chapter discusses how the Fuyuan government and its newly established land management institutions control local land resources in the context of the decentralization of China’s fiscal system. It analyzes why the recent political and fiscal reforms set up a contradictory incentive structure for local governments’ land management. Because of the importance of land to the economic development agendas of local governments, local governments have decisively diverged from the central government in their land management, resulting in constant policy adjustments on the part of the central government to bring local governments under control.