The Political Economy of Making and Implementing Social Policy in China (Social Policy and Development Studies in East Asia)

✍ Scribed by Jiwei Qian

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 212
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book explores the institutional factors in social policymaking and implementation in China. From the performance evaluation system for local cadres to the intergovernmental fiscal system, local policy experimentation, logrolling among government departments, and the “top-level” design, there are a number of factors that make policy in China less than straightforward. The book argues that it is bureaucratic incentive structure lead to a fragmented and stratified welfare system in China. Using a variety of Chinese- and English-language sources, including central and local government documents, budgetary data, household surveys, media databases, etc., this book covers the development of China’s pensions, health insurance, unemployment insurance, and social assistance programs since the 1990s, with a focus on initiatives since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Providing a deeper understanding of policymaking and implementation in China, this book interests scholars of public administration, political economy, Asian politics, and social development.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 The Political Economy of Social Policy Reform in China
China’s Economic Hyper-Growth and Inequality
Research Questions
Methodology
What This Book Is About
A Review of the Literature
Major Arguments
Contribution to the Literature
References
2 The Development of Social Policy Reform in China
China’s Welfare System Before the 1980s
The Welfare System in the 1980s and 1990s and Initiation of New Social Programs
Pensions
Health Insurance
Unemployment Insurance
Urban Social Assistance (Dibao)
The Chinese Welfare System Since the Early 2000s
Pensions
Health Insurance
Social Assistance
Achievements of the Recent Round of Social Policy Reforms
Social Insurance
Social Assistance
Fragmentation of China’s Welfare System
The Role of Bureaucrats in China’s Social Policy Reform
References
3 Policy Implementation in the Decentralization Welfare Regime
Decentralized Management
Local Officials’ Motivation Under the Performance Evaluation System
Selective Enforcement Under the Performance Evaluation System
Decentralized Financing
Social Policy Reform Under Decentralized Management and Financing
Policy Reforms Addressing Issues in the Welfare System
Local Policy Experiments
Issues in Local Policy Experimentation
Regional Development
Issues in Regional Development Policy
Conclusions
References
4 Interagency Collaboration in China’s Social Policy Reform
Collective Action Problem in Policy Making and Implementation
Explicit Ex Ante and Ex Post Rules
Small Leading Groups and Interministerial Joint Conferences
The Limitations of Interministerial Conferences and Small Leading Groups
Separating Authority: A Top-down Mechanism to Facilitate Policy Implementation
Bureaucracy’s Authority in Policy Areas
Rural Health Insurance
Incentive Structure of the Government Agency in Managing Health Insurance
Logrolling: A Voluntary Way to Facilitate the Exchange of Support Among Bureaucrats
Conclusions
References
5 Policy Capacity in China’s Social Policy Reform
Increasing the Funding of Social Programs
Policy Capacity in Managing Social Programs
Capacity in Managing Social Insurance Funds
Capacity of Targeting for Social Assistance Programs
Capacity of Policy Evaluating for Social Insurance Reform
The Financial Sustainability of Social Insurance Funds
Improving Capacity with a Reshuffling of Departmental Responsibility
Reforming the Individual Accounts of Health Insurance Fund
Improving Government Capacity by Upgrading Digital Infrastructure
The Endogeneity of Policy Capacity Improvement
Conclusions
References
6 Feedback on Social Policy Reform and Bureaucrats’ Responses
Citizens’ Participation in Social Policy Reforms
Online Political Participation
Workers’ Feedback to Social Policy Reform
Market-Based Alternatives to Social Programs
Feedback from Firms
Bureaucrats’ Responses to Feedback
Talent War and Regional Variations in Welfare Provision
Conclusions
References
7 Accommodating Policies Under “Top-Level” Design: Coordination Between Employment Promotion Policy and Social Policy Reform
The Role of Top-Level Design
Employment Promotion as a Major Policy Target
Employment Promotion Policies
The Tension Between Social Programs and Active Labor Market Policies
Empirical Evidence for the Discord Between Social Policy Reform and Employment Promotion Policy
Duality of Labor Market and Increasing Size of the Informal Sector
Employment Promotion During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Implications on Financial Sustainability of Social Insurance Funds
Conclusions
References
8 “China Model” and Social Policy Reform
Uneven Expansion of Pension Coverage
Shallow Benefit Level of (Resident) Pension
Low Utilization Rate of Health Care
Under-Coverage of Unemployment Insurance and Social Assistance
Future Challenges: Technological Changes, Aging, and China’s Welfare Regime
A New Welfare Regime in the Making?
Social Policy Reform under the “China Model”
References
References
Index