Exploration Of Chinese Policy Deformation

Policy deformation is a common phenomenon in China’s current publicmanagement. Policy deformation contains two parts: reasonable deformation andunreasonable deformation. Unreasonable policy deformation refers that the streetlevel bureaucracy and the policy practitioners use a variety of methods to carry out thepolicy perfunctorily, make the policy effect deviate from the original intention. Theseall for their own or department or regional interest. Therefore, it is necessary to studyhow to control the behavior of the unreasonable policy deformation.First of all, the unreasonable policy deformation is embodied in the deformationof the four factors of policy—policy objective, guiding ideology and basic principle,policy tools and policy boundary. It mainly includes “superior has the policy, inferiorhas the countermeasure”,“Local rules” and other specific forms. Second, there arefoundations and conditions making the policy deformation happen. The politicalsystem,“central-local” unitary causes the contradiction of power-disposing andfinance distribution, and “Official Standard” brings the hidden power. From theindividual rational perspective, the pursuit of interest and self-interest and the gamebetween policy subjects. From the policy process, the space reservation of policy,discretion, the lack of monitoring mechanism. Above all are the conditions for theoccurring of policy deformation. And the persists and tends to solidify of policydeformation are because of informal institution affecting formal institution and thehidden rules working adhere to formal institution. Finally, the desire of eliminatingthe unreasonable policy deformation completely is not easy to accomplish. We cannotbe able to eliminate the negative effect of various factors in the process of policydeformation. But we can control it. We will put forward the practical methods atpresent stage from the following two aspects: Reform the decision-making system,Moderate decentralization. Release the power to street level bureaucracy and society.Control every part of the policy process, including specify the details of policy-making, make the policy flexible or rigid reasonably; limit the discretion, specify thediscretion scope and accountability mechanisms; establish a comprehensive andindependent supervision mechanism, including National People’s Congress supervision, judicial supervision, internal supervision and social supervision.