Fock, AchimWong, Christine2012-05-312012-05-312008-08https://hdl.handle.net/10986/6803The Government of China has placed strong emphasis on addressing problems related to agriculture, farmers, and rural society, with the development of a "new socialist countryside" designated as a top priority for the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2006-2010). The financing of public services in rural areas will be a key determinant of the Plan's success. This report analyzes the performance of the intergovernmental fiscal system - the financing of rural development through counties, townships, and villages - and the impact of recent reforms. The authors show that achieving the government's objectives will require channeling substantial new resources to rural areas. In addition, ensuring the effective transfer of resources and their efficient utilization will require fundamental reforms to a wide range of public institutions, including budget and planning processes, personnel management systems, and the organization of government agencies. The authors argue that a comprehensive reform strategy is needed to address fundamental vertical and horizontal imbalances in the intergovernmental fiscal system The reforms must reach beyond the fiscal system to build improved accountability mechanisms to improve public service delivery at the grassroots level. And, given China's size and diversity, reform efforts must focus on improving incentive structures at the county, township, and village levels.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTABILITYACCOUNTINGADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITIESADMINISTRATIVE FEESADMINISTRATIVE GUIDANCEAGRICULTURAL TAXAGRICULTURAL TAXESAPPROPRIATIONSASSET SALESASSIGNMENT OF EXPENDITURESAUTONOMOUS REGIONSBASIC EDUCATIONBOND ISSUESBORROWINGBUDGET PLANNINGBUDGET PROCESSBUDGETINGBUSINESS TAXESCALCULATIONSCAPITAL EXPENDITURESCAPITAL INVESTMENTCAPITAL INVESTMENTSCENTRAL TRANSFERSCIVIL SERVICECOLLATERALCONTRIBUTIONSCOOPERATIVESCORRUPTIONCOST OF LABORCREDITSDEBTDEBT SERVICEDEBT SERVICE PAYMENTSDEBT SOURCEDEBTSDEFICITSDEVOLUTIONECONOMIC GROWTHELECTRICITYEMPLOYMENTEMPLOYMENT STATUSENROLLMENTENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITYEQUAL AMOUNTEQUALITYEQUALIZATIONEQUIPMENTEXPENDITUREEXPENDITURE ASSIGNMENTEXPENDITURE ASSIGNMENTSEXPENDITURE RESPONSIBILITIESFAMILIESFAMILY PLANNINGFAMILY SUPPORTFARM MACHINERYFARMERSFEE REVENUEFINANCESFINANCIAL ACCOUNTSFINANCIAL AFFAIRSFINANCIAL CONSTRAINTSFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL INVESTMENTSFINANCIAL STRENGTHFINANCIAL SUPPORTFINANCING COSTSFISCAL BURDENFISCAL CAPACITYFISCAL DECENTRALIZATIONFISCAL GAPSFISCAL MANAGEMENTFISCAL REFORMSFISCAL RESOURCESGOVERNMENT DEBTGOVERNMENT FINANCINGGOVERNMENT POLICIESGOVERNMENT REVENUESGROUP INVESTMENTSHOUSEHOLDSHUMAN DEVELOPMENTINCOMEINCOME DISTRIBUTIONINCOME TAXINCOME TAXESINCOMESINEQUALITIESINFORMATION SYSTEMINFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTSINTERGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFERSINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTINVESTMENT SPENDINGJUSTICE SYSTEMLABOR FORCELAND ADMINISTRATIONLAND AS COLLATERALLAND BANKSLAND REFORMLAND RIGHTSLAND USELAND VALUESLEGAL RIGHTSLEVIESLEVYLIVING STANDARDSLOCAL ADMINISTRATIONLOCAL GOVERNMENTLOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTONOMYLOCAL GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURESLOCAL GOVERNMENTSLOCAL PUBLIC FINANCELOCAL REVENUELOCAL SPENDINGLOCAL TAXESLONG TERM CAPITALLONG-TERM GOALLONG-TERM GOALSMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMANDATESMARKETINGMUNICIPALITIESNATURAL RESOURCESOPERATING COSTSOPERATING EXPENSESOTHER ASSETSPACIFIC REGIONPENALTIESPREFECTURESPRIVATE INVESTMENTSPRODUCTIVITYPROPERTY RIGHTSPROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTSPUBLICPUBLIC EXPENDITURESPUBLIC FACILITIESPUBLIC FINANCEPUBLIC GOODSPUBLIC INVESTMENTSPUBLIC SECTORPUBLIC SECTOR REFORMPUBLIC SERVICEPUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERYPUBLIC SERVICESPUBLIC SERVICES IN RURAL AREASPUBLIC SPENDINGRAPID GROWTHRECURRENT COSTSRECURRENT EXPENDITURESREFORM PROGRAMSREMITTANCESRENTSREPAYMENTREPAYMENT OF PRINCIPALRETURNRETURNSREVENUE ASSIGNMENTSREVENUE COLLECTIONREVENUE MOBILIZATIONREVENUE SHARINGROADSSAFETY NETSALARIESSALARYSALESENIORSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL SECURITYSOCIAL SERVICESSOCIAL WELFARESOFT BUDGET CONSTRAINTSSOURCE OF FUNDSSPECIAL ASSESSMENTSSTATE BONDSTRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENTSUBNATIONAL BUDGETSSUBNATIONAL GOVERNMENTSSUBSIDIARITY PRINCIPLESUBSIDIARYSURCHARGESTAXTAX ADMINISTRATIONTAX ASSIGNMENTTAX LAWSTAX REVENUESTAX SHARINGTAXATIONTOTAL DEBTTRANSACTIONTURNOVERTYPES OF INVESTMENTURBAN AREASURBANIZATIONUSER CHARGESVILLAGEVILLAGESWAGESWATER SUPPLYWELFARE PROGRAMWORTHWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-4693