A Study Of Local Protectionism In The Course Of Economic Reshuffling

Local Protectionism in the course of economic reshuffling refers to a kind of politic thought, a social ideology and a behavior that the local government, during the nation's turning into the market-directed economy, pursues the maximization of its local interest. It's a general term referring to the following situation: in order to protect the benefit of the local government, local organization or individual, it's possible for the local subject to neglect or even to sacrifice the overall or other region's interest; in order to ensure its shortsighted benefit, it's possible to sacrifice the long-range interest. Local Protectionism is a special phenomenon happening in the course of our nation's turning into the market-directed economy, and it may trigger devastating results in the society. It is a different concept from the Localism emerging in the Western countries, the Localism of the period of the Republic of China, and the Local Fragment in the Chinese histories. The motivation of Local Protectionism is to maximize the local economic interest; its main exhibitions are economic blockade and seizing marketplace; its methods is through bargaining with the central government or the superior government; the principal part is the local government or its functional departments; the participants are part of the local corporations and individuals. Local Protectionism may greatly endanger the whole society; nevertheless, it's possible to restrain its harm by perfecting the nation's politic system and economic system.Local Protectionism penetrates almost every aspect of our society: the economic system, the legal system, education and culture, our social activities, and etc., but it is particularly true in the territory of economics, e.g., the fragmented markets, including segmentation and blockage of the markets of product, capital, labor force, and land. Local Protectionism continuously changes its exhibitions. As the strengthening of the market regulating power, it evolves from open into closed scheme, from using the local policies into manipulating the local laws. Also, Local Protectionism is usually more severe in a monopolistic department than in a competitive department.Why do we have Local Protectionism in the course of economic reshuffling? Analyzed from the theoretical view, the local government is dual-characteristic: it has both the public spirit and selfishness, and pursuing the maximization of the interest of the local government and official group is the exhibition of its selfishness. Meanwhile, due to the intensive competition between the local governments for developing each of their own local economy, a game pattern is emerging, which traps all of the local governments in the prisoner's dilemma-they have no other better choices but to take actions such as blockage to protect theirlocal benefit. Though the multi-roles of the local government officials trigger conflicts frequently, their role of leader among the local population often induces them to make decisions in favor of Local Protectionism. However, all of the above points only prove that there is the probability of the emergence of Local Protectionism; it is the systematic flaw in China that turns Local Protectionism from probability into reality. In other words, the reform of national devolution enables the local government to become more autonomous, while it doesn't switch its functional role according to the need of the market-directed economy. As a result of that, the local government is unclear about its own functions and is likely to interfere with the economic system and the operation of corporations too much. During the reform, the power-restraining mechanism doesn't improve much as the local government gains its autonomy. Since the local government has an enormous organization and tight financial budget, it overwhelmingly depends on non-regulated revenue. Consequently, not only have the original identical local economic structures resulted from the conventional system not faded away, but the new identical economic structures are eme...