Sustaining Administrative Reform in China Through Path Dependence and Creation-The Case of Shunde《中国行政改革何以持续：路径依赖与路径创新》
作者：梁雨晴
出版社：Springer
出版时间：2024年3月
页数：200
ISBN：978-981-99-9713-8
梁雨晴，深圳大学政府管理学院行政管理学系副教授，深圳大学粤港澳大湾区新兴产业发展研究院副院长，香港城市大学可持续发展研究中心研究员。她所涉猎的领域包括地方政府改革、制度变迁和制度创新、粤港澳大湾区可持续发展。参与和主持多项国家及省部级研究课题。并在在SSCI、CSSCI、ESCI等中英文学术期刊发表多篇专业论文，出版及参编中英文专著5部。行政改革作为解决政府治理问题的重要路径之一，尽管已在理论上被广泛认同，但在实际操作中，成功案例却凤毛麟角。改革的艰难往往被归因于既得利益集团的强烈抵制。然而，现实的情况远比此复杂得多。本书聚焦于这一核心问题：行政改革如何得以持续推进？
自20世纪80年代以来，中国政府陆续发起了一系列行政改革，以应对经济转型的需求。然而，较之市场领域的改革，行政改革进展缓慢。尽管关于行政改革的必要性及其指导原则已在各界达成广泛共识，改革的实施依然困难重重。已有研究普遍认为，改革进程的最大障碍在于那些手握既得利益的官僚群体的顽固抵制。面对这一局面，多数研究建议改革者应通过更有效的压制手段或提供更为丰厚的激励来推动变革的实现。然而，由于高层领导的政治考量和资源的限制，这些策略在实践中往往难以奏效。如何克服阻力以维持改革仍是一个未解的难题。作者通过追踪广东省顺德区自2009年开始，长达约十年的行政体制改革过程，深入分析了不同层级政府在改革不同阶段中所扮演的多样化角色，探讨了拥有不同利益导向和资源的利益相关者如何通过各种策略组合来影响改革进程。本书显示，顺德改革的持续推进反映了路径依赖（Path Dependence）与路径创新（Path Creation）的辩证统一。过去的改革经验为进一步的改革奠定了有利的背景，而外部力量与本地改革倡导者之间的有效互动则为创新的发生创造了良好的环境。路径依赖与路径创新的有机结合，成为推动顺德改革持续前行的重要动力。本书不仅为理解中国行政改革的复杂性提供了新视角，也为区域性改革的持续推进提供了宝贵的经验与启示。第1章 引言
第5章 第二阶段：2010-2011年的行政审批改革参考文献
1.Most studies have also adopted a static approach to study what should be understood as a long-term chain of processes. The static approach takes reform as a snapshot-occurrence. Actors in the reform were categorized into the “reformers” and “non/anti-reformers” groups according to some observed characteristics of behaviors and attitudes, and the “anti-reformers” are assumed to be locked-in the old path while the reformers have agency to seek change. While such categorization helps to identify “the resistance”, it also exaggerates the differences between the “reformers” and “non/anti-reformers”, and oversimplified their preferences. It ignores that as independent actors, the alleged “reformers” and “anti-reformers” should both possess the capacity towards change: including fostering, supporting, acquiescing, opposing, resisting, etc., whilst the actual choice and inclinations of the diverse actors may shift over time.2.In contrast to the typical view, which stresses on breaking away from the old path being the core of reform, this study shows that creating new things is based on learning from the past successful experiences. It suggests that the reform launchers should not only focus on thinking about how to escape from the ‘trap’ of the existing path but make use of the existing resources and accumulated experiences fully to promote future development. Reform does not narrowly mean the negation of the past, but often the creative utilization of parts of the past for current and future purposes.3.Another important implication this case provides us is that there is no strict boundary between the reformers and non-reformers. An actor can both be the reformer and non-reformer. The change of his/her position depends on the context or conditions. Given that everyone can be ‘reformers’, the higher-level governments and lower-level governments should be partners rather than “principals” and “agents” in the reform. The top leaders can help the local reform actors overcome institutional limitations and grant them greater autonomy to implement reforms, rather than perceiving all non-reformers as passive implementers.![]()
