The efficiency of provincial governments in China from 2001 to 2010: measurement and analysis

Abstract

Measurement and analysis of local government efficiency is important; however, it is also difficult. To measure government efficiency, this paper employs the relative measurement method described in the research literature. It develops and applies an index to measure and rank the government efficiency of 31 provincial governments in China (including autonomous regions and municipalities) from 2001 to 2010. This permits a comparative analysis of provincial government efficiency and of the factors that influence it, among China's eastern, central, and western regions. The findings suggest a high association between the degree of economic development and local government efficiency, and in this respect, a large disparity has been observed between central and western regions on the one hand and the eastern region on the other. It is argued that provincial governments in the central and western regions should focus on improving residents' welfare, the quality of regional economic growth, and the level of social development by constantly enhancing government efficiency, optimizing the supply of public services, controlling the size of government, and thus improving residents' disposable income.

Government institutions and the dynamics of urban growth in China

“…Low government efficiency is also in evidence further inland in Sichuan, Ningxia, and Gansu provinces (Figure ). This geographical distribution of urban government efficiency mirrors that proposed by R. Tang et al () at provincial level.…”

“…They showed that high levels of government efficiency and efforts to fight corruption drew considerable amounts of FDI to the provinces that had made the biggest strides in this respect. R. Tang, Tang, and Lee (, p. 151) pointed that government efficiency at provincial level was “an important factor in strengthening the regional economy,” although they considered the direction of causality problematic.…”

“…The swift development of cities has coincided with a rising interest in the role of government institutions. Measures to improve the efficiency of local governments have been adopted throughout China (R. Tang et al, ) and the Chinese government has embarked in an ever more ambitious policy to curb corruption (Dong & Torgler, ; Gong, ). Yet, the link between government efficiency and urban growth in China remains poorly understood.…”

Modelling the transition toward urban sustainability: a case study of the industrial city of Jinchang, China

“…These dynamics of industrial and political interests might help or hinder transformations to sustainability. Hence, there is an urgent need for innovation in political achievement evaluation and governance decision-making systems in order to set adaptive policies and catalyse urban sustainability transitions (Roseland and Connelly, 2005;Tang et al, 2014). The government is expected to make efforts to proactively identify urban transition points, set realistic goals, promote economic transformation and diversification, assign responsibilities, and facilitate strategy implementation sequentially.…”

Government efficiency and exports in China

“…Governmental efficiency can affect firm productivity, and transaction cost of trade. Tang et al (2014). The index is calculated on the basis of four main indicators, namely government public service, public infrastructure, governmental size and residents' economic welfare, which are subdivided into further categories.…”