Ideological congruence in the Chinese countryside : village leaders and their electorates and selectorates

Recent changes in economic and political organization in the Chinese countryside are producing a new basis for inquiry into congruence between village leaders and those who choose them—namely, their electorates of ordinary villagers and selectorates of leaders at the higher township level. This paper draws on 1990 survey data to analyze the connection between village leaders and their electorates and selectorates, in terms of congruence of positions along an economic ideology dimension measuring orientations to the importance of state management relative to private individual initiative in economic development. Results of multivariate regression analyses of congruence in terms of responsiveness, proximity, and centrism indicate: (1) there is significant congruence between village leaders and their electorates and selectorates along the dimension, and (2) inter-village variation in congruence between village leaders and their electorates results in significant part from institutions and attitudes associated with efforts at grassroots democratization