Rural Fee Reform and the Changing Relationship between State and Peasant

This paper is exploring the Rural Fee Reform from 2002 and its effect on the relationship between state and peasant. Based on the studies in 12 townships, 6 counties, the author found that the basis of local government finance had been transformed from rural fees and taxes to inter-governmental transfers and debts. This may cause some fundamental changes in state-peasant relationship: the ties between local government and peasant are becoming loose and the state power might start to retreat from rural societies.SociologySSCI0ARTICLE167373-39