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Dilemmas of Local Governance under the Development Zone Fever in China: A Case Study of the Suzhou Region

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  • Daniel You-Ren Yang

    (Graduate School for Transformation Studies, Shih Hsin University, No. 21, 6F, Lane 283, Roosevelt Road, Sec. 3, Taipei 106, Taipei, Taiwan, yyren@ms34.hinet.net)

  • Hung-Kai Wang

    (Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, hungkaiw@ccms.ntu.edu.tw)

Abstract

This article aims to explore the mechanisms of the development zone fever in the Suzhou region, located in the fast-growing Yangtze River Delta, and investigates, from an institutional perspective, the practice of relevant intragovernmental governance in the context of rapid industrialisation since the 1990s. A specific mode of governance—the evaluative economic indicators scheme inherited from the earlier socialist planning system, combined with the party/state's promotion/evaluation system—plays an essential role in this transformation of farmland property rights. However, this model of development is not necessarily helpful for local financial conditions and it results in the disclacement of peasants and the loss of land resources. Based on the resulting `dilemmas of governance', it is argued that, in addition to the `economic paradigm', which focuses on consequences of fiscal reforms and devolution, scholars should pay more attention to factors such as the party/state's promotion/evaluation system and the stress between the evaluative indicators system maintained by the central/local sectoral command and the territorial jurisdictions. This could be helpful in gaining a fuller understanding of the dynamics and tensions of local developments in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel You-Ren Yang & Hung-Kai Wang, 2008. "Dilemmas of Local Governance under the Development Zone Fever in China: A Case Study of the Suzhou Region," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 45(5-6), pages 1037-1054, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:45:y:2008:i:5-6:p:1037-1054
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098008089852
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Zheng, Guo & Barbieri, Elisa & Di Tommaso, Marco R. & Zhang, Lei, 2016. "Development zones and local economic growth: zooming in on the Chinese case," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 238-249.
    3. Ling Zhang & Yehua Dennis Wei & Ran Meng, 2017. "Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Spatial Determinants of Urban Growth in Suzhou, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-22, March.
    4. Fulong Wu, 2016. "China's Emergent City-Region Governance: A New Form of State Spatial Selectivity through State-orchestrated Rescaling," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(6), pages 1134-1151, November.
    5. Majid Ghorbani & Michael Carney, 2016. "The changing face of China’s billionaire-entrepreneurs," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 881-902, December.
    6. Yuan Yuan & Hongbo Li & Xiaolin Zhang & Xiaoliang Hu & Yahua Wang, 2019. "Emerging Location-Based Service Data on Perceiving and Measuring Multifunctionality of Rural Space: A Study of Suzhou, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-18, October.
    7. Zhihua Xu & Anthony Yeh, 2013. "Origin Effects, Spatial Dynamics and Redistribution of FDI In Guangdong, China," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 104(4), pages 439-455, September.
    8. Qingke Yang & Xuejun Duan & Lei Wang, 2017. "Spatial–Temporal Patterns and Driving Factors of Rapid Urban Land Development in Provincial China: A Case Study of Jiangsu," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-15, December.
    9. Bin Wu & Xuefei Xu & Zhenzhong Feng, 2018. "Investment Promotion, Fiscal Competition and Economic Growth Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, January.
    10. Wu, Yan & Heerink, Nico, 2016. "Foreign direct investment, fiscal decentralization and land conflicts in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 92-107.
    11. Jinxia Zhu & Qian Xu & Yi Pan & Lefeng Qiu & Yi Peng & Haijun Bao, 2018. "Land-Acquisition and Resettlement (LAR) Conflicts: A Perspective of Spatial Injustice of Urban Public Resources Allocation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-15, March.
    12. Li Fang & Chuanhao Tian & Xiaohong Yin & Yan Song, 2018. "Political Cycles and the Mix of Industrial and Residential Land Leasing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-24, August.
    13. Yuan, Quan & Zhu, Jiren, 2019. "Logistics sprawl in Chinese metropolises: Evidence from Wuhan," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 242-252.
    14. Zhang, Junfu, 2011. "Interjurisdictional competition for FDI: The case of China's "development zone fever"," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 145-159, March.

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