Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.11, 2017

 

Transition in Governmental Governance Mechanisms and Development of Social Organizations

(Abstract)

 

Huang Xiaochun and Zhou Li’an

 

The existing research generally ignores the function of the internal operational logic of the administrative system in the development of social organizations when it discusses relations between the contemporary Chinese government and social organizations. By focusing on the interaction between the governance mechanisms of governments at different levels and their impact on social organizations, we find that when upper-and lower-level administrative departments operate in a “multilayer contract” mode, base-level governments tend to weigh social organizations’ public service functions against potential governance risks before designing the corresponding institutional arrangements; they thus create an institutional environment conducive to development or one stressing risk control. However, when there is tension in the upper-level/lower-level governance mode and the lower levels lack flexibility and elasticity, subordinate governments will pay more attention to developing social organizations as a means of solving their own problems, in a “piggybacking” mechanism. Therefore, we need adopt a new research perspective to reexamine relations between government and social organizations in a transitional era and reveal the diverse underlying mechanisms in the institutional environment of social organizations.