| China is facing the critical period of transformation both in economic and social fields with sustained and rapid economic growth and the improving living standards. At the same time, the demand for public service is increasing rapidly and in a certain condition of profound changes. The role of government is shifting from all-round government to limited government and from regulate-oriented government to service-oriented government. Improving the government public service function has become the top priority in the transformation of government functions. Urbanization is considered as the engine of social and economic development. Historic changes have taken place in the urban and rural structure of China during the reform and opening-up since1978. At present, the new-type urbanization call for not only turning villages into cities and towns geographically but more importantly, making farmers live like city dwellers. The structural reform of public service can be to achieve this goal. The coordination of government functions transformation and new-type urbanization demands better government public service.As the bridge between the governments of higher level and the common citizens, township governments which are the extremities of China’s state power, faces various issues directly at the primarily level. The key point of new-type urbanization does not lie in the development of prefecture-level city, but the development of towns to make the adjustment of industry, population and social structure. The goal of new-type urbanization cannot be reached at a single step. If a place with matured condition can take the lead in finding a way which conforms to the laws of town development, there is no doubt that the experience can be a good example to other places in the urbanization reform. Compared with normal towns, the economic development level of towns which belong to the metropolises is higher and the amount of tax revenue and income of transfer payment are both larger. Therefore the metropolis township government may have abundant financial strength, and the public service supply can seldom be blocked by financial factors. But at the same time, the diversified managerial objects of metropolis township government lead to more complex and changeable public service demands. As a result, advantages and specified difficulties both affect the public service function performance of metropolis township government.This paper regards metropolis township governments as research object. Firstly, analyzing the public service supply system through four dimensions:subject, object, content and pattern of public service supply. Then taking A Town of Shanghai as a case, the paper describes the status quo of public service supply in metropolis township governments by mentioning the fiscal expenditures, institutional arrangements and supply mechanism for public service of township government, and it also points out the particularity of public service supply in metropolis township governments. By means of case study, the paper try to find the issues which are confronted with metropolis township governments when they are in the process of public service supply. After summarizing the problems, it tries to reveal the underlying causes and give out the way through which metropolis township governments can improve the public service function. |
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