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Effects of government contracting of services on NGOs in China: convergence and divergence with international experience

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  • Enjuto Martinez, Regina
  • Qu, Yuanyuan
  • Howell, Jude

Abstract

The government of the Communist Party of China (CPC) rolled out a national policy to contract out social and welfare services to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 2013. This study explores how government contracting of services affects NGOs. We examine three areas: marketization, financial dependency, and autonomy. We find significant convergence of the effects of contracting on NGOs in China with NGOs’ experiences in liberal democratic countries, despite divergent political regimes. Found effects are explained by the combination of the authoritarian government of the CPC with the neoliberal governance structures introduced by contracting. Convergence with international experience despite divergent political regimes is attributed to the neoliberal essence of the policy of contracting of services.

Suggested Citation

  • Enjuto Martinez, Regina & Qu, Yuanyuan & Howell, Jude, 2022. "Effects of government contracting of services on NGOs in China: convergence and divergence with international experience," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124848, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:124848
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/124848/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Paul H. Jensen & Robin E. Stonecash, 2005. "Incentives and the Efficiency of Public Sector‐outsourcing Contracts," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(5), pages 767-787, December.
    4. Yulia Skokova & Ulla Pape & Irina Krasnopolskaya, 2018. "The Non-profit Sector in Today’s Russia: Between Confrontation and Co-optation," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 70(4), pages 531-563, April.
    5. Domberger, Simon & Jensen, Paul, 1997. "Contracting Out by the Public Sector: Theory, Evidence, Prospects," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 13(4), pages 67-78, Winter.
    6. Linda J. Cook & Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova & Anna Tarasenko, 2021. "Outsourcing social services to NGOs in Russia: federal policy and regional responses," Post-Soviet Affairs, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 119-136, March.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    service contracting; welfare; NGOs; authoritarianism; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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