The Study On The Reform Paths Of Balanced Urban And Rural Development

In China, the widest gap lies between urban and rural development, the mostformidable problem is the dual economic structure of urban and rural areas, the mostcomplex economic reform rests in the overall planning of urban and rural reforms, andthe reform of household registration system is most likely to provoke misunderstandingand intrigue disputes. Therefore, this paper intends to focus on these issues.As the driving force of development, reform is the most crucial for addressing allproblems and conflicts occurring in the course of China’s development progress.Likewise, to break down the urban-rural dual system, achieve balanced urban-ruraldevelopment and even build a new economic and social pattern featuring the integrationof both urban and rural areas, we must depend on deepening reform, making innovationsin terms of system and mechanism, and establishing regimes to facilitate the economicand social development integration of both the urban and rural areas.The household registration system reform plays a primary role in the overallplanning of urban and rural development and the establishment of a mechanism thatintegrates the economic and social development in both urban and rural areas, whichmeans that it has the potential to alter the whole landscape. But how shall we look at thehousehold registration system? How to interpret the importance, necessity, urgency andfeasibility of its reform to the overall planning of urban and rural development and theestablishment of a mechanism that integrates the economic and social development inboth urban and rural areas? And how to find a reform path of household registrationsystem that fits into China’s reality? Upon these, not only a wide variety of cognitiveunderstandings are offered by academics and theoreticians, but also a plethora of errorsoccur in practice.This study attempts to examine the household registration system and othersynergetic reforms in Chongqing characteristic of “Understand reform, dare to reformand able to reform” during the past two years, with normative analysis, positive analysis,qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, historical analysis, logical analysis, generalanalysis, canonical analysis, overall inspection and emphasis observation and system factor analysis. In addition, this paper will take into consideration practices of otherregions, so as to provide knowledge about the general thoughts, key tasks, objectives,procedures, supporting measures, objective and subjective conditions, difficulties andhindrances of the reform path to balanced urban-rural development, in particular, of thehousehold registration system reform.In Section Ⅰ: Introduction, issues investigated are proposed, statement of theresearch purpose, rationale, and approach are provided, the contents and structure of thestudy are listed and new ideas and limitations of the paper are summarized.Section Ⅱ: Theories, Literature Review and Reflections elaborates on the relevanttheories, providing a general review of the pertinent literature and offering the author’sunderstandings and opinions.Section Ⅲ narrates on the forming and evolvement of the urban-rural dual system inChina and explains the necessity and urgency of reform. This part reasons about theimportance of reform in promoting balanced urban-rural development, the centralposition of household registration reform in the balanced urban-rural reform, thenecessity and urgency of household registration reform and the significance of advancinghousehold registration reform.Section Ⅳ is chiefly about the positive analysis of comprehensive and synergeticpilot reforms to achieve balanced urban-rural development in Chongqing, householdregistration system in particular. Based on this analysis, this part has summarized thefeatures and experience of Chongqing’s household registration system reform into8aspects: First, the city has chosen an accurate entry point, which is the householdregistration system reform; Second, its decision-making is scientific and prudent, basingits policies on solid statistics and reliable researches; Third, the classification is strict andappropriate and the focus is placed upon the qualified rural residents; Fourth, the transferof household register is voluntary, giving the rural residents freedom to make their ownchoice. Fifth, it has achieved an appropriate degree of strictness by undertaking on alayered basis: scientifically configuring the household register entrance criteria; Sixth,the reform guarantees rights and interests at one go: offering the "five guarantees" forurban residents, i.e. the guarantee of employment, endowment, medical care, householdand education to residents who have changed their registered permanent residences at one go; Seventh, it provides strong supportive measures: formulating all kinds ofsupporting policies; Eighth, the cost thereof is controllable: establishing a scientific andreasonable social sharing mechanism and market-oriented fund-raising mechanism.Section Ⅴ mainly centers on the theoretical and normative analysis of Chongqing’shousehold registration system reform, namely, the theoretical and practical implicationsof the above reform, providing answers to frontier or key questions: Firstly, if we do notreform the current household registration system and transfer household registers, can themigrant workers and rural residents gain their due rights? Secondly, is household registerequivalent to welfare? Thirdly, shall the policy–“transfer homestead for housing,contracted lands for welfare” be adopted in the reform? Fourthly, should the ruralresidents who choose to transfer household register return their lands? Fifthly, how to setup a market-oriented trade mechanism for land, so that the true value of land can berealized? Sixthly, how to fund the cost of household registration system reform?Seventhly, how to guarantee employment for migrant workers who have transferred theirhousehold registers? How to avoid the emergence of slum zone? Eighthly, how to handlethe gradual decrease of marginal benefits after the reform? These problems, franklyspeaking, are not clearly defined and understood by academics, practitioners ordecision-makers for a long time—even until today. This paper attempts to offer somescientific, logical and legitimate answers.Section Ⅵ puts forward and demonstrates the major reform proposals and policysuggestions, including: first, clarify the role and position of local government inpromoting reform, so as to endow the local government with bigger reform autonomy;second, be more positive about the household registration system reform. Change the oldreform pattern of positive but stable to that of prudent and quickening-up; third, devisethe road map of household registration reform scientifically and make breakthrough firstfrom the household registration system reform in relation to migrant workers; fourth, atop level mechanism design, in respect to both the future reform path and its nationwideapplication, that can effectively solve the migrant workers’ household register issue. Thisproposal carries the most weight. This paper also comes up with other reform policiesand principles:“take the household register system reform as the entry point for theoverall urban-rural reform and relevant test reforms”,“solve the household register issue of migrant workers first”,“be more prudently positive about the urbanization strategy inChina”,“lift the restriction over household register in small-sized cities and towns inthree years” and “realize the basic reform of household registration system in big citiesfor another three years”.