Chinese cities have experienced dramatic growth and transformation since the initiation of economic reforms in 1978. One of the main characteristics of contemporary urban development in China has been the massive expansion of urban land, which has become one of the most important means to generate fiscal revenue and promote local economic growth. The existing literature on urban China has addressed issues such as China’s urbanization, changing urban land use and changing public finance. What is missing from the existing literature is the interrelationship among these three processes. The links between urban socioeconomic development and land use change remain poorly understood, and the discussion of the relationship between institutional changes and urban land development has been rather limited. This thesis takes a political economy perspective to investigate the relationship among institutional changes, urban land development and urban socio-economic changes in Chinese cities, using Beijing as a case. The main argument made in this study is that urban land development has worked as an important medium to channel the effects of institutional changes toward shaping the pattern of urban economic and social development. During the period of 1996 -2008, Beijing experienced large-scale urban expansion. The area of agricultural land and unused land dropped by 1.1% and 2.9% respectively while the land used for construction increased by 5.6%, and the urban built-up area in 2008 was 2.75 times of the area in 1996. My research has found that the peak of Beijing’s urban land development occurred in the period of 2001 to 2004 when both the growth of urban construction land and the transaction volume of land conveyance reached their climax. Much of the newly increased construction land was converted from agriculture for industrial use. Over space, urban land development in Beijing was concentrated in the northwestern and eastern regions. My detailed analysis of the sources and dynamics of urban land development in Beijing has identified profound institutional changes made in the central-municipal fiscal relations as the most important driving forces responsible for the temporal, structural, and spatial characteristics of land development demonstrated in Beijing. My further assessment of the effects of urban land development in Beijing has revealed a mixed picture of improved economic efficiency and persistent social and spatial disparity. The efficiency of Beijing’s economic growth has improved significantly when compared with its past and with other cities in the region. However, the internal variations in urban socioeconomic development in the Beijing city-region has been worsen. By establishing the relationship among the three elements, namely urban land development, institutional changes and urban socio-economic development, this research challenges the conventional wisdom that sees land development as simply the passive outcome of economic growth and suggests that land should better be seen as the “medium” to connect and materialize the effects of changes in the political and institutional arena upon urban social and economic transformation. / published_or_final_version / Geography / Master / Master of Philosophy

Public-private partnership (PPP) has been an important issue in recent decades. PPP is seen by some as a cure for inefficient and over-burdensome modern government. Yet, by observing practices in China, this research aims to answer the simple questions: why has there been a decline in PPPs? How does government decide whether or not to establish partnership with private enterprises? By investigating the case of Primary Land Development (PLD) in China especially in Beijing, this research has attempted to provide explanations mainly in relation to coordination effectiveness involving a resource interdependence theory. Logic of institutionalism is followed. External environment, key institutions and attributes of PLD field are also carefully examined to further explain the change of resources and coordination effectiveness. This research conducts longitudinal comparison of cases within one case city: Beijing. The focal level is Beijing municipal level. Three time horizons are examined, which are 2002—2004, 2005—2008, and 2009-2010. The First-hand data in this study have two main sources: in-depth interviews with key policy participants and archives acquired through fieldwork. Secondary data including statistical yearbooks, laws and policies, news, and research carried out by previous students are also employed by the research. This research examines the changes of external political and economic environment in each time horizon. It compares the coordination effectiveness between PLD policy-makers and PLD implementers and between PLD implementers and other stakeholders in PLD process within each time period. Through examining the three stages of PLD in Beijing, this research develops the following findings. First, fiscal decentralization and cadre management are two important elements shaping the incentives of policy-makers in China. Second, coordination effectiveness in two dimensions influence policy-makers in decisions related to PPP. Third, the degree and the extent of resource interdependence influences whether coordinator can employ the most suitable and effective mechanisms to coordinate. Fourth, changes to the external economic and political environment will change the incentives and policy choices of policy-makers, and also change the resources held by different actors. Fifth, coordination matters. When traditional mechanisms such as hierarchy and the market do not work well in many cases, the ability to employ new coordination mechanisms such as networks is particularly important in achieving the desired goals of coordinators. Finally, in countries like China which is dominated by political logic, the more politically significant a field is, the less likely it is that PPPs will exist. / published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy