The Path Dependence Of The China’s Household Registration System Reform And Its Countermeasures

The Household Registration System is a basic national administration system in China and a system of social management. From the establishment of People’s Republic of China to the adoption of Reform and Opening-up Policy, our country gradually formed a dual household registration management system which restricted the flow of population and allocated resources on the basis of the household registration. After the adoption of Reform and Opening-up Policy in China, the market economic system has gradually founded. Therefore strict dual household registration management system was no longer suitable for social management which was under the condition of market economy. 1984, our country implemented self-care food household registration system, which remarked the beginning of household registration system reform. For 30 years, the household registration system reform is guided by the central government, promoted by the local, and the small towns take actions first, which has gained fruitful achievements. But the household registration system reform still exist problems, and did not drop the original institutional framework.Path dependence theory explains why the system can last long. This paper analyzes the problems existing in the reform of the household registration system, and the author believes that the problems that the household registration system reform and the reform of household registration system are related to path dependence. Based on this perspective, this paper holds that the path dependence of hukou reform embodied in three aspects: the first level is the decision makers and practitioners level. The country as a policy maker is more concerned about social stability, and the household registration system reform requires a lot of cost and energy, so the process of reform must be slow. And the local government is limited by its own fiscal capacity and development goals, which lead the household registration system reform to be progressive, regional and instability, also affect the reform of household registration system of advance. The second level is the system level. The household registration system and the systems of employment, housing, social insurance, education and so on which are attached to the household registration system form barriers which are hard to break and also increase the cost of the household registration system reform greatly. The third level is the organizational level. The core of household registration system is interest distribution. The main body will hinder the household registration system reform process, which is embodied in urban residents are reluctant to let outsiders in their social resources, and farmers’ interests is not willing to give up land for urban registered permanent residence, unsustainable interest main body of the game led to the household registration system reform.Based on the phenomenon of path dependence in the household registration system reform, breakthroughs should be made in the following three aspects: one is establishing the dominant position of central government, and promoting the overall reform of household registration system, which is under the national legal system of household registration reform, also is the reform of the national fiscal expenditure system. The second is to break the existing household registration system as the core of institutional barriers. Stripping attached to the household registration system on top of other welfare system, reconstructing city welfare and security system to eliminate differences in the allocation of resources and benefits because of the household registration, make existing welfare policy gradually away from the household registration system. Third is to balance the relationship between the interest subjects. For urban residents, on the one hand, to ensure the supply of the public services is constantly improved, on the other hand to speed up the urbanization construction and alleviate the pressure of population agglomeration to big, middle city. For farmers, their willingness should be respected, and the land system reform should be speed up, the reasonable transfer of land should be promoted, and their rights of the usage of land should be successfully conducted.