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CHINESE PUBLIC FINANCE FRAMEWORK: A CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS
Author(s) -
Yang ChunLei,
Scapens Robert W.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
financial accountability and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.661
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1468-0408
pISSN - 0267-4424
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0408.2010.00497.x
Subject(s) - china , government (linguistics) , public finance , delegation , politics , public administration , public sector , administration (probate law) , central government , finance , financial management , economics , local government , political science , business , economy , management , law , macroeconomics , philosophy , linguistics
This paper explores the complexities of government financial management in China and examines the nature of the recent Public Finance Framework (PFF) reform in that country. We argue that this reform is not just the latest instalment in a centrally dominated reform agenda (and a logical and strategic development in the process of social, political and economic transformation), but that it reflects the Central Government's struggle to fine‐tune central‐local financial relationships and to grapple with the consequences of the previously misplaced delegation of government budgets. In so doing, the paper challenges the prescriptive research which often pervades policy studies in China. Instead, it analyses the historical and contemporary contexts which are shaping government administration in China, and sheds new light on the background, implementation and future prospects of Chinese public sector financial reform. Overall, our contextual analysis provides a starting point for more critical research into the changes in government financial administration at both policy and organisational levels in China.