ProQuest dissertations and theses

Based on a set of fiscal data for the year 2000, which covers all county-level jurisdictions in China, Chapter 3 explores various factors causing the fiscal deficits of governments at the grassroots level. Other than economic factors, our empirical findings suggest that institutional defects, such as the mismatch between fiscal revenue and expenditure responsibility, the ineffective fiscal transfer system, and the abuse of power among local officials, all aggravate the fiscal predicament of poor counties. A proposed reform of compressing the current five-tier administrative hierarchy may help to address these institutional problems.Chapter 1 explores the hotly debated issues pertaining to fiscal disparities in China during the second half of the 1990s, and investigates the various factors driving the changes in fiscal disparities. These factors include economic factors (e.g., GDP per capita, economic structure) and institutional factors (e.g., the urban---rural dichotomy, ethnic issues). We adopt the general, regression-based approach that was proposed by Morduch and Sicular (2002), and Fields (2003), to decompose fiscal disparity with respect to per capita fiscal expenditure. The empirical results indicate that among all the statistically significant factors, GDP per capita and the urban-rural dichotomy are the two most important variables affecting fiscal disparities. Other relatively important factors include economic structure and population density. Likewise, several features of fiscal expenditure in China identified by our empirical findings together with their corresponding policy implications are discussed in this chapter.Chapter 2 delineates a comprehensive picture of sub-provincial fiscal transfers in China with the help of a set of fiscal data covering all sub-provincial jurisdictions. It explores various factors affecting the distribution of fiscal transfers. Among them are economic factors, political factors, and demographic factors. The empirical results indicate that among all these factors, economic factors and political concerns are the more important determinants of intergovernmental fiscal transfers, while local demands for some basic public services, such as healthcare, education, and social security, seem not to have been seriously taken into account by Chinese government. Our empirical findings also identify several features of the fiscal transfer system in China. Their policy implications are discussed accordingly.With the help of fiscal statistics on sub-provincial public finance in China, this dissertation intends to achieve three goals. First, it explores the debate on the factors driving fiscal disparities through a rigorous empirical analysis. Second, it examines the determinants of intergovernmental fiscal transfers. Finally, this dissertation further explores the local fiscal predicament at the county level.Yu, Qing.Adviser: Kaiyuen Tsui.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: 2173.Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008.Includes bibliographical reference.Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.Abstracts in English and Chinese.School code: 1307