IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/chieco/v54y2019icp403-417.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is public spending behavior important for Chinese official promotion? Evidence from city-level

Author

Listed:
  • Que, Wei
  • Zhang, Yabin
  • Schulze, Günther

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the effect of public expenditure on local officials' promotion. The main objectives of this study are as follows. Firstly, we seek to discuss if the expansion of public spending will contribute to local official promotion. Secondly, we analyze, if the positive effect is possible, how is the influence of expenditure structure on official promotion; for example, what is the different between the effect of productive expenditure and welfare expenditure. Finally, we also examine the hysteresis effect of local official promotion. The panel data from 284 Chinese cities for the period of 1990–2016 are estimated using the probit model. The major findings are the following: (1) fiscal gap will positively affect officials' promotion; and (2) basic construction expenditure and official's promotion is positively correlated; however, (3) education expenditure's effect on officials' promotion is negative; and (4) real estate investment improve officials' position in the promotion championship; and finally, (5) in the early stage of official change, public expenditure and investment will statistically significant than the latter stage.

Suggested Citation

  • Que, Wei & Zhang, Yabin & Schulze, Günther, 2019. "Is public spending behavior important for Chinese official promotion? Evidence from city-level," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 403-417.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:54:y:2019:i:c:p:403-417
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2019.02.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043951X19300203
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.chieco.2019.02.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Huang, Bihong & Chen, Kang, 2012. "Are intergovernmental transfers in China equalizing?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 534-551.
    2. Easterly, William & Rebelo, Sergio, 1993. "Fiscal policy and economic growth: An empirical investigation," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 417-458, December.
    3. Edward C. Norton & Hua Wang & Chunrong Ai, 2004. "Computing interaction effects and standard errors in logit and probit models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 4(2), pages 154-167, June.
    4. Ding, Chengri & Niu, Yi & Lichtenberg, Erik, 2014. "Spending preferences of local officials with off-budget land revenues of Chinese cities," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 265-276.
    5. Goel, Rajeev K. & Mazhar, Ummad & Nelson, Michael A. & Ram, Rati, 2017. "Different forms of decentralization and their impact on government performance: Micro-level evidence from 113 countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 171-183.
    6. David Alan Aschauer, 2000. "Do states optimize? Public capital and economic growth," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 34(3), pages 343-363.
    7. Aschauer, David Alan, 1989. "Is public expenditure productive?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 177-200, March.
    8. Chenggang Xu, 2011. "The Fundamental Institutions of China's Reforms and Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1076-1151, December.
    9. Philippe Cyrenne & Manish Pandey, 2015. "Fiscal equalization, government expenditures and endogenous growth," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 22(2), pages 311-329, April.
    10. Que, Wei & Zhang, Yabin & Liu, Shaobo, 2018. "The spatial spillover effect of fiscal decentralization on local public provision: Mathematical application and empirical estimation," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier, vol. 331(C), pages 416-429.
    11. Susana Martins & Francisco Veiga, 2014. "Government size, composition of public expenditure, and economic development," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 21(4), pages 578-597, August.
    12. Holmstrom, Bengt & Milgrom, Paul, 1991. "Multitask Principal-Agent Analyses: Incentive Contracts, Asset Ownership, and Job Design," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(0), pages 24-52, Special I.
    13. Kristof Witte & Wim Moesen, 2010. "Sizing the government," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 145(1), pages 39-55, October.
    14. Jun Zhang & Yuan Gao, 2008. "Term limits and rotation of Chinese governors: do they matter to economic growth?," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 274-297.
    15. Jin, Hehui & Qian, Yingyi & Weingast, Barry R., 2005. "Regional decentralization and fiscal incentives: Federalism, Chinese style," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(9-10), pages 1719-1742, September.
    16. Chen, Ye & Li, Hongbin & Zhou, Li-An, 2005. "Relative performance evaluation and the turnover of provincial leaders in China," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 421-425, September.
    17. Li, Hongbin & Zhou, Li-An, 2005. "Political turnover and economic performance: the incentive role of personnel control in China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(9-10), pages 1743-1762, September.
    18. Zheng, Siqi & Kahn, Matthew E. & Sun, Weizeng & Luo, Danglun, 2014. "Incentives for China's urban mayors to mitigate pollution externalities: The role of the central government and public environmentalism," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 61-71.
    19. Ai, Chunrong & Norton, Edward C., 2003. "Interaction terms in logit and probit models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 80(1), pages 123-129, July.
    20. Chen, Xiude & Qin, Quande & Wei, Y.-M., 2016. "Energy productivity and Chinese local officials’ promotions: Evidence from provincial governors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 103-112.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yuping Deng & Yanrui Wu & Helian Xu, 2020. "Political Connections and Firm Pollution Behaviour: An Empirical Study," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 75(4), pages 867-898, April.
    2. Lin, Boqiang & Zhou, Yicheng, 2021. "How does vertical fiscal imbalance affect the upgrading of industrial structure? Empirical evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    3. Can Zhang & Tengfei Liu & Jixia Li & Mengzhi Xu & Xu Li & Huachun Wang, 2023. "Economic Growth Target, Government Expenditure Behavior, and Cities’ Ecological Efficiency—Evidence from 284 Cities in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-30, January.
    4. Can Zhang & Jixia Li, 2024. "The Impact of Official Promotion Incentives on Urban Ecological Welfare Performance and Its Spatial Effect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-29, April.
    5. Gyourko, Joseph & Shen, Yang & Wu, Jing & Zhang, Rongjie, 2022. "Land finance in China: Analysis and review," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    6. Gangqiang Yang & Yuxi Ma & Yongyu Xue & Xia Meng, 2019. "Does the Development of a High-Speed Railway Improve the Equalization of Medical and Health Services? Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-21, May.
    7. Wu, Desheng & Xie, Yu & Liu, Dingjie, 2023. "Rethinking the complex effects of the clean energy transition on air pollution abatement: Evidence from China's coal-to-gas policy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    8. Chu Wei & Ying Xu & Chuan-Zhong Li, 2022. "Recent advances in China’s sustainable transition studies," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 279-286, December.
    9. Liu, Dayong & Xu, Chunfa & Yu, Yongze & Rong, Kaijian & Zhang, Junyan, 2020. "Economic growth target, distortion of public expenditure and business cycle in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    10. Kunming Li & Jianhua Wen & Tingjun Jiang & Xiamin Fan & Linxing Huang, 2024. "How tax competition affects China’s environmental pollution?: A spatial econometric analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(7), pages 18535-18557, July.
    11. Shiwen Liu & Zhen Zhang & Junhua Yang & Wei Hu, 2022. "Exploring Increasing Urban Resident Electricity Consumption: The Spatial Spillover Effect of Resident Income," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-17, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yu, Jihai & Zhou, Li-An & Zhu, Guozhong, 2016. "Strategic interaction in political competition: Evidence from spatial effects across Chinese cities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 23-37.
    2. Chen, Xiude & Qin, Quande & Wei, Y.-M., 2016. "Energy productivity and Chinese local officials’ promotions: Evidence from provincial governors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 103-112.
    3. Wang, Jiayi & Lei, Ping, 2021. "The tournament of Chinese environmental protection: Strong or weak competition?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    4. Chen, Yvonne Jie & Li, Pei & Lu, Yi, 2018. "Career concerns and multitasking local bureaucrats: Evidence of a target-based performance evaluation system in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 84-101.
    5. Li Fang & Chuanhao Tian & Xiaohong Yin & Yan Song, 2018. "Political Cycles and the Mix of Industrial and Residential Land Leasing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-24, August.
    6. Tang, Peng & Shi, Xiaoping & Gao, Jinlong & Feng, Shuyi & Qu, Futian, 2019. "Demystifying the key for intoxicating land finance in China: An empirical study through the lens of government expenditure," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 302-309.
    7. Che, Jiahua & Chung, Kim-Sau & Lu, Yang K., 2017. "Decentralization and political career concerns," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 201-210.
    8. Wang, Yuan & Hui, Eddie Chi-man, 2017. "Are local governments maximizing land revenue? Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 196-215.
    9. Wang, Li & Menkhoff, Lukas & Schröder, Michael & Xu, Xian, 2019. "Politicians’ promotion incentives and bank risk exposure in China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 63-94.
    10. Liu, Dayong & Xu, Chunfa & Yu, Yongze & Rong, Kaijian & Zhang, Junyan, 2020. "Economic growth target, distortion of public expenditure and business cycle in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    11. Tang, Pengcheng & Jiang, Qisheng & Mi, Lili, 2021. "One-vote veto: The threshold effect of environmental pollution in China's economic promotion tournament," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    12. Chen, Shuo & Qiao, Xue & Zhu, Zhitao, 2021. "Chasing or cheating? Theory and evidence on China's GDP manipulation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 657-671.
    13. Yu Bai & Yanjun Li, 2022. "Political tournaments and regional growth‐enhancing policies: Evidence from Chinese prefectures," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(5), pages 1358-1385, November.
    14. Barbara Krug & Alexander Libman, 2015. "Commitment to local autonomy in non-democracies: Russia and China compared," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 221-245, June.
    15. Cheng, Cheng & Huang, Bo & Wang, Yiqian & Hu, Lei, 2024. "Military background officials, risk awareness, and local government fiscal balance: Novel evidence from text analysis of Chinese local officials' news reports," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    16. Hongji Xie & Cunzhi Tian & Fangying Pang, 2023. "Multi-Tasking Policy Coordination and Corporate Environmental Performance: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-22, January.
    17. Yang Shen & Jing Wu & Shuping Wu, 2022. "City‐chief turnover and place‐based policy change: Evidence from China," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(5), pages 1296-1328, November.
    18. Suárez Serrato, Juan Carlos & Wang, Xiao Yu & Zhang, Shuang, 2019. "The limits of meritocracy: Screening bureaucrats under imperfect verifiability," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 223-241.
    19. Longjin Chen & Jian Huang & Jianjun Li, 2017. "Fiscal Decentralization, Satisfaction with Social Services, and Inequality Under the Hukou System," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 377-394, May.
    20. Tinglin Zhang & Bindong Sun & Yinyin Cai & Rui Wang, 2019. "Government fragmentation and economic growth in China’s cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(9), pages 1850-1864, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:54:y:2019:i:c:p:403-417. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/chieco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.