Evolving Governance Strategies in Policymaking in China

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

This panel brings together three insightful papers that dissect the multi-faceted challenges and innovations within Chinese public policy, highlighting the nation's evolving governance strategies. Each paper contributes a unique perspective on how China is addressing key policy challenges through environmental management, digital transformation, and the psychological impacts on street-level bureaucrats. First, Li dives into the complexities of China's waste management strategy in the rise of waste incineration. The study offers critical insights into China's approach to ecological modernization and authoritarian environmentalism. Second, exploring a Chinese anti-poverty policy, Zhang and Wang provides evidence of how digital reforms reshape welfare delivery and targeting efficiency. Finally, Gao et al. investigate the impact of over-fulfillment in policy implementation on the well-being of street-level bureaucrats in China. These papers underscore the dynamic interplay between policy objectives, governance strategies, and their broader societal impacts, offering valuable insights into the challenges and complexities in a rapidly changing socio-political context.

Sub Unit

• Division 25: Public Policy

Individual Presentations

• China’s Controversial Boom of Waste-Incineration - Yao Li, Florida State University

• State Information Capacity and the Targeting of Welfare Programs - Youlang Zhang, Renmin University of China

• The Bright & Dark Side of Overfulfillment on Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Wellbeing - Xue Gao, Florida State University; Shu Quanfeng, Tsinghua University; Wendong Wei; Hongtao Yi, Florida State University

• Multiple “Digital China”? Deciphering Policy Narratives of Local Governments - Yang Yan, Freie Universität Berlin; Genia Kostka, Freie Universität Berlin

• State Control and Information Disclosure of Civic Organizations - Wenhui Yang, University of Texas at Austin

Chair

• Yutong Si Columbia University

Discussant

• Mengdi Liu