Introduction

This chapter is the introduction to this book, which analyzes the heterogeneity of rural public service and its objective requirements for different types of suppliers. By dividing rural public demand into head demand and long tail demand, a theoretical model is constructed according to the characteristics of the different types of demand. Different types of suppliers are matched, in order to realize the long tail coupling of rural public service supply and demand. Many scholars have analyzed the matching degree of supply and demand of rural public services based on the neoclassical price theory model. However, the logic of public choice behavior behind public goods is difficult. And the theoretical analysis to escape the shackles of the effective disclosure of demand information and incentive compatibility is also not easy. This book intends to provide a reasonable explanation for the necessity, rationality and comparative advantages of different types of suppliers in response to the long tail demand for rural public services. This will be achieved through mathematical proof, extension analysis, theoretical expansion and empirical research. Based on the current situation and characteristics of rural long tail public service, this book analyzes the factors, mechanism and development trends that affect the imbalance of supply and demand in practice. By introducing lag term and proxy variables into the model, this book constructs a dynamic adjustment and self-correction mechanism of the imbalance between supply and demand. This illustrates that the response subject, as represented by local government, provides the minimum guarantee for the degree of imbalance, based on political assessment, reputation effect and other factors. However, the impact of the governance level of other social sectors on the degree of imbalance may be based on the organizational form of diversification and differentiation, ultimately leading to no significant impact. Combined with the change of the macro-environment and the heterogeneous development trend of public demand, this book puts forward an information efficiency and incentive-compatible mechanism to meet the public demand of rural residents. This is achieved by constructing a correction mechanism design model. Combined with the experience and lessons in the practice of rural construction, and on the premise of the revelation principle, this book explains the application of this correction model in a specific institutional environment and with regard to economic resource allocation.