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7 221 China’s Public Service System yu฀jianxing With China’s great increase in government fiscal revenue over the past three decades of economic reform, there has been far more government spending on public services and a significant improvement of the country’s public service system compared with the era of planned economy.1 In the 1980s and 1990s, however, as economic growth became the core task of government at all levels owing to the influence of developmentalism, the government’s public service function and government spending on public services were comparatively neglected, which, coupled with the relative stagnation of public service system reform and construction, led to a serious shortage and uneven supply of public services. Since 2002, with the introduction of a series of progressive concepts and goals—such as the scientific outlook on development, the building of a harmonious society, and the building of service-oriented government—China has entered a new era in which equal importance is given to economic and social development. Public service, in particular, has become an important responsibility at all levels of government. In support of the goal to achieve equal access to basic public services, the Chinese government has used various methods—building a social policy system, reform of the public fiscal system, and innovation of the public service supply—to put in place a preliminary public service system compatible with the level of its economic and social development. This has greatly improved the availability of basic public services and played an important role in easing social conflict, promoting social equality, strengthening social welfare , and satisfying social demands. Even so, China’s existing public service system still faces various problems and shortcomings, including fragmentation, differentiation, inadequately funded 07-2535-0 chap7.indd 221 3/28/14 10:15 AM 222 Yu Jianxing localization, a low-level supply model, and structural bottlenecks that result in inadequate and uneven government spending on public services. These problems call for immediate and systematic efforts to make improvements, especially to break through structural constraints and barriers. Development and Reform of China’s Public Service System The development and reform of China’s public service system have undergone roughly four stages: 1949-78, when a Soviet-style public service system was established on the basis of public ownership; 1978-94, when the supply of public services was relatively neglected owing to the priority placed on economic reforms, with the resultant crumbling of the old public service system; 1994-2002, when the government set about building a new social security system as the reform of state-owned enterprises deepened; and 2002 to the present, when the government , guided by the new concepts of being oriented around the people and having a scientific outlook on development, has been committed to building a more inclusive and comprehensive public service system. In the era of the planned economy, China established a relatively simple, egalitarian government-takes-care-of-all public service system (allocation system) in line with the economic and social systems at that time. This system, with different urban and rural structures, mainly consisted of work-unit welfare in urban areas and collective welfare in rural areas. Under the work-unit welfare system, enterprises and institutions were responsible for providing their employees with various public services such as retirement pay, health care, elementary education, welfare services, and housing. Under the rural collective welfare system—which mainly covered primary education, collective care for the elderly, and a cooperative medical system—the village-based collective economy was the main financing source and provider of public services, and there was little direct financial and other support from the state. Overall, the public service system in the era of the planned economy achieved universal and equal availability of public services in spite of scarce resources, though there were still some problems. For one, owing to the low level of economic development, public services were generally neither comprehensive nor adequate, and having a centralized supplier and singular supply method resulted in serious inefficiency and wasted resources. For another, public services were mainly available to employed urban residents and workers in heavy industry, while farmers and those in light industry were sidelined. Additionally, the provision of public services in the rural areas was heavily reliant on the local collective economy, and as a result there was a significant gap in public services between villages with different levels of economic development.2 07-2535-0 chap7.indd 222 3/28/14 10:15 AM [3.17...

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