The selective centralization in decentralization: China’s environmental vertical management reform with a case study in Hebei province

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Abstract

This article examines why and how China’s environmental vertical management reform has been carried out and how well it helps to improve the implementation of local policies. By applying the theoretical framework of ‘dynamics, strategy, and capacities’ in Hebei province as a case, the changes in the policy process have been fully revealed. The article concludes that the reform shows the character of selective centralization in decentralization, which facilitates the establishment of a degree of standardization in policy implementation. However, a new phenomenon of ‘selective implementation’ has been spotted which severely distorts the actual results of this reform.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)634-657
Number of pages24
JournalInternational Journal of Water Resources Development
Volume38
Issue number4
Early online date28 Apr 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The author would like to thank Prof. H.F.M.W. van Rijswick, Liping Dai and Herman Kasper Gilissen from the Utrecht University (UCWOSL), Raymond Yu Wang from Southern University of Science and Technology (Centre for Social Sciences), Johann Morri from University of California Davis (School of Law), as well as two anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions for improving this article.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

  • China
  • Hebei
  • central–local relations
  • environmental vertical management
  • policy implementation
  • water quality management

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