| In 1987, the Organic Law of Villager Committees gave villagers the authority to elect their own village leaders. Still, over a decade since the passage of the Organic Law, village elections are unevenly implemented in many parts of rural China. What explains the uneven implementation of the Organic Law? And what kind of outcomes do these various election processes produce?; This dissertation examines the introduction of village elections and the post-election outcomes in rural China. Unlike previous studies of village elections, which attempt to determine whether or not the elections are competitive, this study examines post-election outcomes. The aim is to determine whether or not the various election processes influence leader characteristics, the provision of basic village services as well as villager satisfaction with these services. The uneven implementation of the Organic Law has produced a diverse range of electoral institutions. As a result, I disaggregate the elections by looking at the various types of nominations (i.e. villager, party branch and township nominations) and the outcomes they produce. The survey data shows that village leader characteristics, specific public services and villager opinions do indeed vary with the type of nomination process.; An enumerator team made up of twelve graduate students from Northwest University, Xian and myself collected the survey data during October and November 2000 in Shaanxi province. We surveyed a random sample of thirty-four villages in six counties, which includes over four hundred respondents. Furthermore, I conducted eight village case studies, based primarily on in-depth interviews with villagers and leaders over a three-month period from February to April 2001. During the case studies, I stayed in the homes of villagers and leaders for a period of three to five days per village.; Using the data I collected in 2000–2001, I am able to identify changes in specific electoral processes in the sample of Chinese villages over time and observe heterogeneity in institutional forms across space. The results of my dissertation demonstrate the ways in which national reforms are translated into significant institutional change at the local level. |
