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The concept of policy capacity is often used to explain the success or failure of governments or countries in conceiving of, developing, and implementing policies, but is often poorly systematised. Wu et al provide a framework for understanding types of policy capacity, arguing that three kinds of capacity, distributed across policy systems, are needed for effective implementation. This paper applies that framework to a discussion of China, a country that has been managing a fundamental transformation since at least the late 1970s, which has underpinned the country's growth and development. The paper focuses on a subset of China's reforms - reforms to the healthcare system since the 1990s. Discussion of policy capacity shows (1) that policy capacity is dynamic and adaptive, in response to changing challenges due to rapid transformation in the country; (2) that the development and distribution of capacities has, overall, been government-directed, with strong research and analytical support from public think tanks and universities; (3) that understanding of policy capacity is evolving, with government paying increasing attention to the need to develop a learning state and society in response to increasingly complex problems of development. Examination of the Chinese case has relevance for how other countries develop and adapt policy capacities over time to manage rapid transformation, uncertainty and shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality assurance (QA) has received increasing attention in the Chinese higher education (HE) sector. This paper examines the QA system in HE in China and its influence on university governance and academic performance. It starts with an introduction into the development of the QA system, and is followed by a discussion of how QA affects accountability and autonomy from the perspective of the faculty. Given that different stakeholders have different understandings of education quality, the next section contributes to the debate on whether the current system is designed for improvement of learning experience, or as a means of effective government control. This paper concludes by highlighting the importance of involving faculty and students in the current QA system to enhance the quality of HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last three decades, China has experienced dual decentralization in transforming its economy, resulting in decentralization and deconcentration in public administration and social service delivery. Under the policy framework of decentralization, particularly when welfare financing has been decentralized to local governments, the emergence of welfare regionalism is evident in China. This paper sets out against this policy context to examine how three local governments in eastern coastal areas in China handle changing labour welfare needs by institutionalizing social and labour protection measures to meet the local needs instead of implementing central policy. With particular reference to examine why regional variations exist in welfare provision even though the socio-economic development status is similar in these areas, this paper shows how different forms of capitals, government's governance style and diversity of industries have affected welfare arrangements for labour in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Paper presents the results of the first comprehensive empirical study of China's cases adjudicated under the statutory veil piercing regime introduced as part of the 2005 corporate law reform. It provides insights into the way Chinese courts have interpreted and applied the veil piercing doctrine, an area of law renowned for its complexity and uncertainty. Some comparisons are drawn between the results of this study and similar studies undertaken in common law jurisdictions, which served as a model for the new Chinese veil-piercing regime. The empirical findings are analyzed in an attempt to answer the question whether and how China's veil-piercing law has fulfilled its stated mission, namely to protect creditors. A number of suggestions are offered with a view to improve its efficacy. The Paper also applies the interest-group theory to explain and project the development of China's veil-piercing rules. The outcome of the research can be of considerable significance, especially to foreign lenders, business partners or investors in Chinese companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of quality assurance (QA) regimes in higher education has been an explosive phenomenon over the last 25 years. By one estimate, for example, half of all the countries in the world have adopted QA systems or QA regulatory agencies to oversee their higher education sector. Typically, this phenomenon is explained as a process of policy diffusion, the advent of marketization, the spread of neoliberalism, massification and, concomitantly, the emergence of a 'global market' for higher education, prompting governments to respond by validating standards, quality, and introducing certification and compliance regimes. In this paper I question the utility of these explanatory frameworks, specifically looking at the case of Hong Kong in order to explore the role coercive institutional isomorphism plays in policy adoption and the implications of this for regulatory performativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper undertakes the first comprehensive study of the nature and extent of private securities litigation in China, examining whether private securities litigation has been effectively carried out during the first decade since it was formally permitted by China's highest court in 2002. Methodologically, it goes beyond the doctrinal analysis as commonly seen in the extant literature on the subject. Instead it empirically investigates both the quantity and quality of securities civil actions in China. There has been a much lower number than expected of securities civil suits in China during the ten-year study period, but the percentage of recovery in China is significantly higher than that in the United States. The policy implications of the empirical findings are discussed with a view to improving the Chinese legal regime for private securities litigation. In particular, it casts doubt on the popular belief that China should adopt the U.S. -style class action. Furthermore, as the local courts are found to be dysfunctional in handling securities civil cases, a reform proposal is made to give investors more freedom in choosing the court for bringing securities civil actions in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decentralized irrigation governance can improve irrigation, support water equity and reduce water conflicts. Decentralization, by changing actors' incentives and encouraging farmers to engage in collective irrigation, can have positive outcomes. However, recent decentralization in developing countries has had mixed results including China. This paper examines empirical evidence from institutional analysis of two decentralized irrigation systems in central China, and finds that even following the same process of decentralization, access rights to water are not always equally distributed within the irrigation community and collective action does not always occur in every decentralized setting. Based on this, I argue that decentralization is not an end in itself. The assumption that local water users would automatically share decision-making rights, as long as these rights are transferred to localities, is wrong. It ignores the various considerations of physical conditions, interests of heterogeneity vs. homogeneity, and potential elite captures, which can influence or determine actors' incentives and their behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is undergoing a process of decentralization that has been highly valued for its economic growth. However, this paper aims to explore how this process has affected the equality of social provision for rural-urban migrants in China by taking hukou system reform as a case study. It is argued here that the traditional assumption that decentralization promotes social welfare by bringing the government closer to the people is not necessarily true, or at least not uniformly so in certain institutional settings. Decentralization policies in contemporary China indeed make local governments more powerful and responsible for social welfare provision to their local citizens, but have also undermined the incentives for local governments to cover the welfare costs for migrant workers. To this extent, decentralization has played a negative role in integrating the large number of migrant workers into local cities and promoting equity within social welfare delivery at a national level in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has seen a number of serious infrastructure construction accidents in recent years. The focus of this paper will be on urban rail. Much has been written about the technical and circumstantial causes for these accidents, but relatively little about the organizational framework and contractual arrangements which constitute the context within which safety measures fail to be monitored and enforced effectively during such construction projects. This article aims to show how existing contractual incentives provide incentives for various involved parties which lead them to make decisions where safety is sacrificed to the benefit of other values. By regarding the contractual arrangements as the outcome of a power game between principal, agents and sub-agents, the social mechanisms that evoke strategic behavior among key players are proposed to explain the context in which operational choices are made. The case of the Hangzhou subway construction disaster, which has been the most dramatic instance in China to date, is used to illustrate the mechanisms we propose in our theoretical framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dalian used to have a very favorable modal split (for public transport) and had the honor of being an environmentally friendly city among its peers in China only a few years ago. However, momentous and when it comes to sustainability rather deleterious is evolving in the past five years or so: automobiles have flooded the city along with car-friendly policies being promulgated at both the central and local levels of government. Consequently, the market share of public transport has been substantially eroded since then. Apart from the rapid motorization that weakened Dalian's position as a green city, another factor fueling the downward trend o transit attractiveness has been the growing fragmentation in transit services. Given the fact that the motorization process is irreversible and restricting car purchase and use is unlikely to work out in China, if something needs to be done to maintain Dalian as a clean and comfortable living habitat, then lifting the fragmentation in the transit system is the only way to do this. Therefore, this paper explores where the fragmentation originates, and how it can be counteracted. A mathematical model is thus built to test the effectiveness of reducing fragmentation in improving transit service. And the results show that the modal split after system integration is going to tilt more strongly towards transit, while for service quality levels for users cannot expect much improvement. These modeling results have significant implications for the future public transport administration in Dalian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Marketization of the petroleum industry is part of China''s efforts to construct a market economy. This has provided strong incentives for national oil companies (NOCs) to seek their commercial interests. Nevertheless, marketization of this industry is only partial. What impact does the partial marketization have on China''s energy security against the backdrop of its growing reliance on foreign energy resources? This paper argues that China is plagued by two paradoxes when dealing with its energy security problems: between state centralism and market domination, as well as between state control and NOCs’ struggle for greater autonomy. Both paradoxes stem from the government''s distrust of the market and the multi-faceted goals that it has set for the petroleum industry. The government''s high expectation of the NOCs enhancing China''s energy security with their oligarchic monopoly rights could prove to be a little far-fetched. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the last two decades, China has experienced significant economic transformations and social changes. The economic reforms started in the late 1970s have unquestionably enabled some social groups to become wealthy but the same processes have also widened the gap between the rich and the poor and intensified regional disparities in China. Most significant of all, embracing the market economy has inevitably challenged the way socialism is practiced in China, especially through the growing prominence of neo-liberal ideas and strategies in reforms, not only in the economic sector but also in public sector management and social policy delivery. After pursuing marketization of public service delivery in the last few decades, a process of re-appraisal has begun, with new thinking evident concerning the role of government in financing and provision of public services. This has been prompted in large part by growing social unrest over the financial burdens experienced in accessing user-pays services in education, health and housing. While market principles and a low level of state investment in public services are now deeply entrenched, the Chinese leadership has called for a new social policy paradigm by reasserting the public in public service delivery. This paper explores current reforms in education and discusses the coping strategies and the policy implications for launching a new public service delivery model in the next few years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]