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A lack of nostalgia: Hometown favoritism and allocation of intergovernmental transfer in China

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  • Ma, Guangrong
  • Qi, Qingyuan
  • Liu, Mengxin

Abstract

We investigated hometown favoritism among senior provincial officials (SPOs) in China. SPOs include all officials with a vice-governor rank or above in provincial party standing committees and provincial governments. Using a new comprehensive panel of 2381 SPOs, we found that an increase in the number of SPOs born in a city does not increase the fiscal transfers received by the city and does not promote local economic growth. We argue that the absence of hometown favoritism results from the Chinese style of upward-accountability regime, in which provincial officials do not need to please residents in return for votes.

Suggested Citation

  • Ma, Guangrong & Qi, Qingyuan & Liu, Mengxin, 2023. "A lack of nostalgia: Hometown favoritism and allocation of intergovernmental transfer in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:81:y:2023:i:c:s1043951x23001050
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2023.102020
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