Showing papers by "Thomas Heberer published in 2015"

Employment and Wages

Abstract: The ratio of employees to rooms for the industry is about 7 employees to 10 rooms (.72 employees per room). This ratio is lowest for the small establishments with 5 to 10 rooms that employ .42 persons per room, while the largest businesses with 100 rooms or more employ .85 people per room. Many medium and large lodging businesses such as hotels and country inns provide other than lodging services, such as dining and recreation, requiring additional staff.

China in 2014: Creating a New Power and Security Architecture in Domestic and Foreign Policies

Abstract: In 2014 China’s development was characterized by a search for structural reforms in both domestic and foreign policies. Domestically, focal issues included the fight against corruption, the implementation of reforms of China’s development model, and a tightening of internal (anti-terror) measures. In foreign policy, traditional paradigms are now under scrutiny, and the regional rivalry with the U.S. has intensified.

'Authoritarian Resilience' and effective policy implementation in contemporary China: A local state perspective

Abstract: The authors argue that China's "authoritarian resilience" cannot be fully grasped without adopting a local state perspective to examine the way that policy-making plays out at county level and below. Although local cadre bureaucracies have to obey upper levels, they still have substantial maneuvering space to shape the implementation of policies. Arguably, effective policy implementation is a manifestation and a result of systemic adaptiveness, effectiveness refering to the way that policies are adjusted according to local development blueprints, managed in terms of policy coordination across local government bureaus, experimentation and innovation, regular evaluation, and mobilization of public support. This article is structured as follows: first, it highlights important policy changes and institutional reforms launched by the central government in the early 2000s, which impacted strongly on local state governance and laid the groundwork for effective policy implementation. The authors then focus on the "Construction of a New Socialist Countryside" "macro-policy" as a frame of reference to show how local governments at county and township levels ensure effective policy implementation. It is argued that local cadres act as developmental agents who are able to manoeuver successfully between central state requirements and local needs to ensure that things are getting done "on the ground". Subsequently, we show how local governments interact with and "guide" private entrepreneurs as important stakeholders in implementing local development blueprints and strengthening public goods provision. In the conclusion, the main findings and arguments are summarized.

Multicultural China: A Brief View

Abstract: Throughout history, race, language and religion have divided China as much as physical terrain, political fiat and conquest. However, it is always a politically sensitive issue to identify those non-Han people as different ethnic groups. As a result, the total number of ethnic groups has never been fixed precisely in China. For example, in 1953, only 42 ethnic peoples were identified, while the number increased to 54 in 1964 and 56 in 1982. Of course, this does not include the unknown ethnic groups as well as foreigners with Chinese citizenship.

Rural China: Economic and Social Change in the Late Twentieth Century : Economic and Social Change in the Late Twentieth Century

Abstract: This book reports the findings of two field studies conducted between 1993 and 2001 in seven townships and six provinces in China. The authors describe the process of rural urbanization and its related economic, social, and political changes by focusing mainly on the zhen (town), in addition to administrative offices and companies involved in the local economy, and village committees. The authors show that the social changes resulting from China's economic reforms are occurring mainly from below, and that this process is also resulting in a weakening of the economic and political dominance of the central government. Other changes discussed in this study include the development of new ownership structures and the increasing dominance of the private sector; a shift in the functions of administrative offices as the bureaucracy becomes increasingly business oriented; the rise of a new local elite; a rebirth of traditional social structures (clans, local associations); and the emergence of new interest groups and institutions to represent their needs.