Responsive to Whom? A Survey Experiment of the Influence of Superiors, Businesses, and Residents on China's Subnational Officials

• In Event: ICA Interactive Paper/Poster Session III
  In Interactive Paper Session: Global Communication and Social Change Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

Can societal actors shape governance and developmental outcomes in a non-democratic regime? What is the relative influence of bottom up pressure in comparison to business interests and state directives? In China, policy decisions that shape social and economic outcomes at often made at the subnational level. However, we know little about the relative influence of different stakeholders on subnational policymaking. Through a list experiment and an endorsement experiment among over 2,000 subnational officials in China, we measure the compliance of prefectural-level officials to upper-level demands as well as the responsiveness of these officials to local businesses and local residents. By minimizing social desirability bias through survey experiments, we find that only half of prefecture-level officials are influenced by demands of higher-level government when making economic and social policy decisions, and slightly less than half of officials are influenced by local businesses and local residents.

Author

• Jennifer Pan, Stanford U