Non-balanced pattern of local autonomy

Author: Shen Deli
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: This book is an empirical study on the development of Hainan Special Economic Zone (1988—2002). Based on the realities of China's political economy, the author examines the local development of Hainan within the framework of the country's unbalanced development pattern, which greatly benefits readers in gaining a deeper understanding of the diverse and complex political economic development of China and establishing an analytical system for regional societies. The book takes the Hainan Special Economic Zone as its subject, proposing and arguing the important proposition that "local autonomy within the unbalanced development pattern is the endogenous driving force for regional economic and social development, with institutional innovation represented by local governments as a significant marker." China is a super-large country with unbalanced development among urban and rural areas, regions, and ethnic groups, and this imbalance is a fundamental characteristic of China's economic and social development. This national condition determines that advancing regional modernization is an important component of achieving the entire nation's socialist modernization. Precisely because regional modernization is so important, it further validates the scientificity and timeliness of the Party Central Committee's reform and opening-up decisions and regional policy adjustments, thereby highlighting the increasingly prominent role of local governments. Unlike previous regional economic analyses of regional development, this book is guided by the fundamental theories of Marxism and employs multidisciplinary perspectives and analytical methods. Through a realistic examination of the process of transforming the socialist market economy system, it describes the impact and responses to the Central Government's reform and opening-up decisions and the steps of the socialist economic system reform. It aims to understand the status, functions, and interrelationships of the regime entities, represented by local governments, under the conditions of multi-linear modernization in the transitional period. By comparing regional modernization efforts, the book seeks to identify and discover several practical and effective economic development models.