The main macroeconomic questions about decentralization are whether it has led to an overall expansion of the public sector or to unsustainable fiscal deficits. In the long term, subnational spending contributes to a larger overall government sector, but steady subnational deficits do not affect...

Using panel data of 1994-2002, as well as time series data of 1978-2002 in China, this paper examines the effect of transport infrastructure on economic growth and poverty alleviation, and finds out that the higher growth level in East and Central China comes, to a great extent, from better...

Fiscal decentralization has been a fundamental aspect of China's transition to a market economy; and the country has made substantial efforts to break down its highly centralized fiscal management system with various forms of fiscal contracting systems (1978-1993) and later a tax sharing system...

This paper sheds light on the heavy financial burden on peasants in China's fiscal decentralization system. Using a political economy framework, this paper explores the tax-farming nature of China's fiscally decentralized system and examines why the system incurs a particularly heavy financial...

Understanding the logic of fiscal decentralization is pivotal to the next steps of fiscal reform. The first step is a retrospection of the literature and evidence accumulated in the field. As a typical transition economy with rapid and extensive devolution reforms, China is the ideal context to...

This paper sets up a theoretical model linking the growth rate of the economy to the growth rate and volatility of different government expenditures. On a theoretical basis, it is found that volatility in government spending can be positively or negatively associated with economic growth...