On Marketization Of Public Service In Western Countries And Its Inspiration To China

As a practical model, the marketization of public service has been the focus of governmental administration reform since 1980's in western countries, and it is also the field in which the most desirable reform effects have been achieved. The basic idea of it is to introduce the market economic system into the execution of the public service organizations, i.e. the marketization of public service.Traditionally, public service has long been supposed to be provided by the government. However, with the development of market economy, the arrangement function of market on the social resources is stronger and stronger, especially when capital market is established and prosperous, thus enabling the private capitals to be available in the public service area which used to be forbidden for private investment. Meanwhile, the problems of government service, such as, poor quality, high price and inefficiency, etc are waiting for settlement. In order to break the monopoly of government in public service area, market system must be introduced to resort to competition against monopoly. Therefore, it is a tendency to practice marketization of public service on the condition of market economy.The reforms of marketization of public service have provided the western countries with new energy for their rigid political and executive traditions, polished the ways of administration of government to great extent, stimulated the economic development, met more service of public, and improved their national competencies. China is experiencing the vital development period of socialist market economy construction, and the executive administration system has already been lagged behind. Therefore, the reforms of public service in our country are not only the demands of complying with socialist market economic system, but that of socialist democracy as well. Nevertheless, the reforms of our country are facing up with much pressure and hardships. As a result, we need to refer to the experience of western countries in their reforms of public service.This thesis consists of four parts. The first part is the introduction to the marketization of public service, including its definition, causes, the public goods and the historical background. The second part falls upon the theoretical foundations of public service reform, with the theory of public choice, the theory of transaction cost, the theory of request-proxy, the theory of administration, as the focuses. The third part is mainly concerned with the practice of marketization of public service, i.e. the main reform measures, the main experience and the appraisal of reforms. The last part takes the inspiration of western countries' reform of public service to China as the central point. This thesis point out that the marketization of public service means both prospects and hardship for China, and that reform of public service in China will be an inevitable tendency. Meanwhile it reminds the public to realize the marketization of public service in China should be a step-by-step process. If practices of western countries are completely borrowed regardless of insufficient condition of China, we will merely enlarge the problems experienced by western countries during their reform in China, and we might encounter more hardships, even more serious ones.