Abstract

Changing state–society relations in China have made it a challenge for the government to adopt unpopular policies that may incur blame and mass resistance. How can the Chinese regime adopt and implement unpopular policies when enforcement based on coercion is costly and undesirable? The article investigates property tax reform as a case to show how policy unpopularity and government strategies together resulted in a policy that failed to achieve any major policy goals. This study confirms China’s governance transformation compromises efficiency with broader public values and shows the limitedness of incremental reforms.

Citation

Zhang, P. and Jing, Y. (2020). Strategies in Adopting Unpopular Policies in China: The Case of Property Tax Reform. Journal of Contemporary China, 29(123), 387-399.