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Local Energy Efficiency Policy Implementation in China: Bridging the Gap between National Priorities and Local Interests*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 October 2012

Genia Kostka  and
William Hobbs
Genia Kostka*
Affiliation:
Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.
William Hobbs
Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego, Email: whobbs@ucsd.edu.
*
Email: geniakostka@gmail.com (Corresponding author)
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Abstract

This paper analyses Chinese sub-national governments’ implementation strategies to meet national energy efficiency targets in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006–2010). Previous research has focused on the ways governance practices and decision-making structures shape implementation outcomes, yet very little attention has been given to what strategies local leaders actually employ to bridge national priorities with local interests. To illustrate how local leaders work politically, this paper highlights specific implementation methods officials use to strengthen formal incentives and create effective informal incentives to comply with energy efficiency mandates. The analysis is drawn from 53 interviews conducted in June and July of 2010 in Shanxi, a major coal-producing and energy-intensive province. Findings suggest that local government leaders conform to national directives by “bundling” the energy efficiency policy with policies of more pressing local importance or by “bundling” their energy efficiency objectives with the interests of groups with significant political influence. Ultimately, sub-national government officials frame policies in ways that give them legitimacy at the local level.

Keywords

policy implementationcentral–local relationsenergyinformal incentivesclimate changeChina
Type
Articles
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 211 , September 2012 , pp. 765 - 785
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 2012 

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Footnotes

*

The authors are grateful for funding from the Developmental Leadership Program (DLP). The authors also wish to thank Shi Xiangying, Adrian Leftwich, Tom Harrison, Christine Polzin, Sarah Eaton and Kyoung Shin for helpful feedback on earlier drafts of this paper.

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