published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / abstract / Chinese Historical Studies / Master / Master of Arts

Rural Guangdong before 1949 was characterized by an exploitive system derived from the alliance of wealth and power among the landlords, clans, the rich and the gentry. This network of exploitive relations not only controlled the resources--i.e., land, credit and markets—which were most essential to the livelihood of the peasants, but also created numerous blockages in the system making it impossible to have any input injected from the outside trickle down. Rural development in Guangdong after 1949 began with the land reform movement, but it was only when collectivization was carried out through the establishment of cooperatives and rural communes, such exploitive relations were eradicated. A rural development strategy, however, did not emerge until after the fateful years of agricultural crisis and the Soviet pull-out. This strategy was aimed at the development of infrastructure for both agricultural and rural development through collectivization. It postulated that only when the infrastructure for agriculture was strengthened, could agricultural production be increased and funds and surplus for the development of supportive structure, such as rural industries, health care and education in the rural system be generated. And only when such supportive structure was developed and consolidated could new inputs be created to increase agricultural production further. It was through such a spiral process of generating, reinvesting and retaining rural surplus that rural development was implemented and realized. And it was in such a manner that rural development fulfilled various objectives to become an integral part of a strategy for development. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1993. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [456]-459).

published_or_final_version / Earth Sciences / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Since the late 1990s, local governments in China have been relying heavily on land, which is a state-owned asset in urban area, to generate a significant amount of extra-budgetary revenue. Whilst this striking phenomenon has attracted numerous academic attentions, not many literatures shed the light on the process of central-local interactions. Adopting the procedural approach, this study examines the central-local fiscal and policy relations in the context of land finance. Taking the evidence from Guangdong province, this study understands the central-local relations as a process of policy interactions. After the central’s attempt to recentralize the fiscal resources of local governments in the mid-1990s, localities have been facing fiscal stress, which led them to rely heavily on land conveyance income, an extra-budgetary revenue in order to complement the fiscal shortage in budgetary account. However, a series of socioeconomic consequences of local fervent land development have attracted frequent central interventions. The most noticeable example is the housing macro-regulations introduced in light of the soaring housing prices. The example of the housing macro-regulations rejected the classic centrist model of the central-local relations in China, which implies a zero-sum game. On the contrary, in face of an issue influencing the conflicting core interests of both actors, both the powers of central and local governments were intensified to the extent that no one single actor will totally win over another. The powers of the central and local governments were also mutually transformed in the course of the game. It is argued that local governments display a sense of resistance against the central interventions as they have strong interests in land and real estate industry after tax sharing reform. On the other hand, it is unlikely for the central government to give concession to local governments as the failure to alleviate the consequences of land finance may cause public discontent and even political crises. The possible outcome is either a “win-win” situation or loss for both actors. To avoid a negative-sum outcome, collaboration and compromise are recommended. The centre is urged to address the root problem of misalignment of revenue and expenditure and to institutionalize the relationship between the centre and subnational governments. / published_or_final_version / China Development Studies / Master / Master of Arts in China Development Studies

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy