China’s strong political leadership often drives the perception that its governance is monolithic and highly centralised. In this episode of East Asia Pulse, EAI’s Goh Keng Swee Professor in China Studies, Professor Jean Oi, speaks to EAI Director Prof Alfred Schipke, about the complexities of China’s local governments and the role they play in China’s economic landscape. While they have played an outsized role in China’s economic development by spurring innovation and experimentation, they have also in recent years been associated with debt and the misallocation of resources.  
 
Among other things, Prof Oi weighs in on the need for fiscal reform to address the inconsistencies in local governments' responsibilities and revenue sources and examines the role of local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) in generating revenue. 

Key Highlights: 

00:00 Defining the central-local government relationship and key challenges faced in this dynamic 
08:10 Challenges in balancing growth with the management of local government debt   
15:10 How incentive structures for local governments lead to overcapacity and misallocation of resources 
23:40 Local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) and their role in generating revenue through land sales and equity investments. 
27:10 The need for fiscal reform to address inconsistencies in local governments' responsibilities and revenue sources

East Asia Pulse is a podcast produced by the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS). It provides in-depth analyses of political, economic and strategic trends in East Asia.

Mailing list: http://tiny.cc/eai-emailing
LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/east-asian-institute/
YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/EastAsianInstituteNUS