Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T05:25:56.007Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Bureaucratic Slack in China: The Anti-corruption Campaign and the Decline of Patronage Networks in Developing Local Economies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2019

Peng Wang Open the ORCID record for Peng Wang [Opens in a new window]  and
Xia Yan
Peng Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Email: pengwang@hku.hk.
Xia Yan*
Affiliation:
School of Sociology and Anthropology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
*
Email: yanxiasoci@163.com (corresponding author).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article presents a qualitative empirical study of the impact of corruption and anti-corruption on the efficiency of China's bureaucratic system in developing a local economy. Drawing on 40 in-depth interviews and 98 days of participant observation, it first investigates the significance of extravagant position-related consumption in building personalized bureaucratic ties (patronage networks) and mobilizing resources for local economic development. It then examines the causal link between President Xi's campaign against corruption and extravagance and the rise of bureaucratic slack in local governments. The anti-extravagance campaign reduces the level of corruption in local government but it discourages local officials, who are motivated primarily by the desire to avoid risk and ensure political survival, from using banquets and gift-giving to build patronage networks, attract investment and mobilize development resources. The article concludes that corruption may contribute positively to the efficiency of a fragmented Chinese bureaucracy in fostering development at the local level, while the anti-corruption campaign compels local cadres to develop a new coping strategy – bureaucratic slack – for implementing policies and developing local economies.

摘要

摘要

本文围绕中国政府的腐败与反腐败对地方经济发展效率的影响进行了质性实证分析。基于 40 次深度访谈和 98 天参与式观察所收集的资料，本文发现地方政府官员借助公款消费（尤其是公款吃喝），建立和加强了人际关系互动，进而更高效地调动资源促进地方经济发展。虽然反腐运动提升了地方政府的廉洁程度，有助于规避腐败对组织运转及地方经济发展的负面影响。但是，短期来看，反腐也导致了政府组织成员互动频率减少和懒政问题的蔓延，削弱了政府调动资源发展地方经济的积极性。文章首先探讨了“三公”消费在建立私人关系网络（庇护网络）和调动资源上所发挥的重要作用。然后，文章基于调查资料分析了反腐败、反浪费运动与懒政现象之间的因果关系。为了规避风险和确保政治生存，地方官员极力避免宴请和礼物交换。过去借助于公款消费调动资源、招商引资的发展模式失去了合法性。在没有形成替代性的发展激励机制前，地方政府在经济发展方面趋于懈怠，发展动力不足。

Keywords

anti-corruptionbureaucratic slackcorruptioneconomic developmentextravagant position-related consumptionpatronage networksrisk avoidanceChina反腐败懒政腐败经济发展“三公” 消费庇护网络风险规避中国
Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 243 , September 2020 , pp. 611 - 634
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS University of London 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aidt, Toke S. 2009. “Corruption, institutions, and economic development.” Oxford Review of Economic Policy 25(2), 271–291.Google Scholar
Bailey, David H. 1966. “The effects of corruption in a developing nation.” Western Political Quarterly 19(4), 719–732.Google Scholar
Bentzen, Jeanet Sinding. 2012. “How bad is corruption? Cross-country evidence of the impact of corruption on economic prosperity.” Review of Development Economics 16(1), 167–184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blanchard, Ben. 2015. “China punishes 249 ‘lazy’ officials for unspent funds.” Reuters, 29 September, http://www.smh.com.au/world/china-punishes-249-lazy-officials-for-unspent-funds-20150929-gjxj4l.html.Google Scholar
Burns, John P. 1989. The Chinese Communist Party's Nomenklatura System: A Documentary Study of Party Control of Leadership Selection, 1979–1984. New York: M.E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
Cai, Yongshun. 2014. State and Agents in China: Disciplining Government Officials. Berkeley, CA: Stanford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campos, Nauro F., Dimova, Ralitza and Saleh, Ahmad. 2010. “Whither corruption? A quantitative survey of the literature on corruption and growth.” CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP8140, https://ssrn.com/abstract=1718935.Google Scholar
Dong, Bin, and Torgler, Benno. 2013. “Causes of corruption: evidence from China.” China Economic Review 26, 152–169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fan, Ying. 2002. “Guanxi’s consequences: personal gains at social cost.” Journal of Business Ethics 38(4), 371–380.Google Scholar
Fei, Xiaotong. 1992. From the Soil, the Foundations of Chinese Society. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Gong, Ting, and Xiao, Hanyu. 2017. “The formation and impact of isomorphic pressures: extravagant position-related consumption in China.” Governance 30(3), 387–405.Google Scholar
Grünberg, Nis. 2016. “Revisiting fragmented authoritarianism in China's central energy administration.” In Brødsgaard, Kjeld Erik (ed.), Chinese Politics as Fragmented Authoritarianism. New York: Routledge, 27–49.Google Scholar
He, Zengke. 2000. “Corruption and anti-corruption in reform China.” Communist and Post-Communist Studies 33(2), 243–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hicken, Allen. 2011. “Clientelism.” Annual Review of Political Science 14, 289–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hillman, Ben. 2010. “Factions and spoils: examining political behavior within the local state in China.” The China Journal 64, 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hillman, Ben. 2014. Patronage and Power: Local State Networks and Party-state Resilience in Rural China. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Hwang, Kwang-kuo. 1987. “Face and favor: the Chinese power game.” American Journal of Sociology 92(4), 944–974.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jiang, Junyan. 2018. “Making bureaucracy work: patronage networks, performance incentives, and economic development in China.” American Journal of Political Science 62(4), 982–999.Google Scholar
Khatri, Naresh, Johnson, James P. and Ahmed, Zafar U.. 2003. “A two-stage model of cronyism in organizations: a cultural view of governance.” In Kidd, John B. and Richter, Frank-Jürgen (eds.), Corruption and Governance in Asia. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 61–85.Google Scholar
Kong, Dongmin, Wang, Li and Wang, Maobin. 2017. “Effects of anti-corruption on firm performance: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China.” Finance Research Letters 23, 190–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krishna, Anirudh. 2007. “Politics in the middle: mediating relationships between the citizens and the state in rural north India.” In Kitschelt, Herbert and Wilkinson, Steven I. (eds.), Patrons, Clients and Policies: Patterns of Democratic Accountability and Political Competition. New York: Cambridge University Press, 141–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lambsdorff, J.G. 2002. “Making corrupt deals: contracting in the shadow of the law.” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 48(3), 221–241.Google Scholar
Leff, Nathaniel H. 1964. “Economic development through bureaucratic corruption.” American Behavioral Scientist 8(3), 8–14.Google Scholar
Leys, Colin. 1965. “What is the problem about corruption?” Journal of Modern African Studies 3(2), 215–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, Zongwu. 1935. Hou heixue (Thick Black Theory). Chengdu: Huaxi Daily Publications.Google Scholar
Lieberthal, Kenneth G. 1992. “Introduction: the ‘fragmented authoritarianism’ model and its limitations.” In Lieberthal, Kenneth G. and Lampton, David M. (eds.), Bureaucracy, Politics, and Decision Making in Post-Mao China. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1–30.Google Scholar
Lui, Francis T. 1985. “An equilibrium queuing model of bribery.” Journal of Political Economy 93(4), 760–781.Google Scholar
Mauro, Paolo. 1995. “Corruption and growth.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 110(3), 681–712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mauro, Paolo. 1998. “Corruption and the composition of government expenditure.” Journal of Public Economics 69(2), 263–279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Méon, Pierre-Guillaume, and Sekkat, Khalid. 2005. “Does corruption grease or sand the wheels of growth?” Public Choice 122, 69–97.Google Scholar
Méon, Pierre-Guillaume, and Weill, Laurent. 2010. “Is corruption an efficient grease?” World Development 38(3), 244–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mertha, Andrew. 2009. “Fragmented authoritarianism 2.0: political pluralization of the Chinese policy process.” The China Quarterly 200, 995–1012.Google Scholar
Mertha, Andrew, and Brødsgaard, Kjeld Erik. 2016. “Introduction.” In Brødsgaard, Kjeld Erik (ed.), Chinese Politics as Fragmented Authoritarianism. New York: Routledge, 1–14.Google Scholar
Mo, Pak Hung. 2001. “Corruption and economic growth.” Journal of Comparative Economics 29, 66–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murphy, Kevin M., Shleifer, Andrei and Vishny, Robert W.. 1993. “Why is rent-seeking so costly to growth?” The American Economic Review 83(2), 409–414.Google Scholar
O'Brien, Kevin J., and Li, Lianjiang. 1999. “Selective policy implementation in rural China.” Comparative Politics 31(2), 167–186.Google Scholar
Pye, Mary W., and Pye, Lucian W.. 1985. Asian Power and Politics: The Cultural Dimensions of Authority. Cambridge: Becknap Press.Google Scholar
Qi, Xiaoying. 2017. “Social movements in China: augmenting mainstream theory with guanxi.” Sociology 51(1), 111–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Redding, Gordon. 1990. The Spirit of Chinese Capitalism. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shi, Jiangtao. 2013. “Xi Jinping's guidelines to cut back extravagance go into effect.” South China Morning Post, 4 January, http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1119384/xi-jinpings-guidelines-cut-back-extravagance-go-effect.Google Scholar
Smith, Graeme. 2010. “The hollow state: rural governance in China.” The China Quarterly 203, 601–618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sun, Yan. 2001. “The politics of conceptualizing corruption in reform China.” Crime, Law and Social Change 35(3), 245–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tiezzi, Shannon. 2014. “Simple rules for saving the Chinese Communist Party.” The Diplomat, 10 October, http://thediplomat.com/2014/10/8-simple-rules-for-saving-the-chinese-communist-party/.Google Scholar
Wang, Erik H. 2019. “Frightened mandarins: the adverse effects of fighting corruption on local bureaucracy.” Working paper, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3314508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, Peng. 2017. The Chinese Mafia: Organized Crime, Corruption, and Extra-Legal Protection. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Wang, Yuanyuan, and You, Jing. 2012. “Corruption and firm growth: evidence from China.” China Economic Review 23(2), 415–433.Google Scholar
Weber, Max. 1946. Essays in Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Wedeman, Andrew. 2012. Double Paradox: Rapid Growth and Rising Corruption in China. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Wedeman, Andrew. 2017. “Bribery with Chinese characteristics? Corruption, fuzzy property rights, and rapid growth.” East Asia 34(2), 87–111.Google Scholar
Wong, Christine P.W. 2000. “Central–local relations revisited: the 1994 tax-sharing reform and public expenditure management in China.” China Perspectives 31, 52–63.Google Scholar
Xiao, Hanyu. 2016. “Public financial management and the campaign against extravagant position-related consumption in China.” Journal of Chinese Governance 1(4), 546–563.Google Scholar
Yan, Xia, and Wang, Ning. 2013. “Gongkuan chihe de yinxing zhiduhua: yige Zhongguo xianji zhengfu de ge'an yanjiu” (The institutionalization of extravagant official receptions: a case study of a county government). Shehuixue yanjiu 167(5), 1–25.Google Scholar
Yang, Mayfair Mei-hui. 1994. Gifts, Favors, and Banquets: The Art of Social Relationships in China. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Yuen, Samson. 2014. “Disciplining the Party: Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign and its limits.” China Perspectives (3), 41–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhan, Jing Vivian. 2012. “Filling the gap of formal institutions: the effects of guanxi network on corruption in reform-era China.” Crime, Law and Social Change 58(2), 93–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhan, Jing Vivian, and Zhu, Jiangnan. 2016. “Explaining China's selective anticorruption efforts in the reform era.” Paper presented at 2016 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, 1–4 September, https://ssrn.com/abstract=2838087.Google Scholar
Zhou, Xueguang. 2010. “The institutional logic of collusion among local governments in China.” Modern China 36(1), 47–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhu, Jiangnan, Zhang, Qi and Liu, Zhikuo. 2016. “Eating, drinking, and power signaling in institutionalized authoritarianism: China's antiwaste campaign since 2012.” Journal of Contemporary China 26(105), 337–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zuo, Cai Vera. 2015. “Promoting city leaders: the structure of political incentives in China.” The China Quarterly 224, 955–984.CrossRefGoogle Scholar