Policy Implementation in Reform China

Policy Implementation in Reform China: The Case of Retirement Insurance China has initiated a major restructuring of its retirement insurance programmes since the mid-1980s with the first cohorts of retirees appearing in great numbers. The restructuring has acquired importance because the ever increasing number of retirees has taxed heavily the existing financial resources of the industrial enterprises. In addition, a major overhaul of retirement insurance programmes has been warranted in light of market-oriented and property right-centred reform. This has resulted in some major policy changes on the subject-matter from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. This paper is concerned with the process of policy implementation in China during the reform era on the basis of a case study of retirement insurance. The study focuses on the cleavages and conflicts of interest at the institutional, work unit and individual levels in order to account for the progress of as well as obstacles to the successful introduction of new policy programmes. The paper examines the issues and problems pertaining to the expansion of "social unified management" from the county and urban district levels to the provincial level, the tension between the provincial jurisdictions and ministerially administered "systems," the bureaucratic rivalry among ministerial units, and the strain between the local governments and enterprise units. On the whole, the paper argues that institutional actors are largely motivated by the desire for broader jurisdiction, greater managerial power and more financial resources. The resolution of conflicts hinges on administrative decisions as much as on the mutual adjustment of political nature.