Evolution of Urban Public Goods Provision Mechanisms
摘要
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the economic and institutional mechanisms of Chinese cities have undergone significant transformations, leading to substantial changes in the systems and mechanisms for providing urban public goods. During the planned economy period, the government, public institutions, and state-owned enterprises primarily managed the provision of urban public goods, which was characterized by a highly administrative approach. However, since the economic reform and opening up in 1978, and with the gradual establishment of the socialist market economy system, the main entities involved in urban public goods supply have diversified. Social organizations and private enterprises have increasingly participated in this system, which remains government-led but is now market-oriented. This chapter traces the historical development of China’s urban public goods supply system, focusing on the shift from a government-dominated to a market-oriented approach. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of government, market, and multi-stakeholder collaborative supply mechanisms in this process. Considering the close link between the reforms of the urban public goods supply system and fiscal reforms, this chapter also explores the evolution of the public fiscal system.