Policy Entrepreneurship, Institutional Constraints, and Local Policy Innovation in China

Policy entrepreneurship has been a key concept to explain policy dynamics and policy changes. Despite considerable debate on the role of policy entrepreneurs in the policy-making process, insufficient effort has been put forth on motivations of policy entrepreneurs and interactions between policy entrepreneurs and other key players in different settings. This article explores the role of policy entrepreneurship in local policy process in a transitional society, China, with special reference to housing reform experience in Guizhou Province. It argues that value, knowledge, and tactics such as framing are crucial for policy entrepreneurship. The policy entrepreneur both is constrained by and takes advantage of existing institutional arrangements. By highlighting personal attributes and maneuvers of a key policy entrepreneur in introducing an innovative housing model, this research contributes to the literature on both the policy entrepreneur and local politics in China.