DOI: 10.5064/f6fbrtrw
title: Data for: China’s Governance Puzzle

description: &lt;p&gt;China is widely viewed as a global powerhouse that has achieved a remarkable economic transformation with little political change. Less well known is that China’s leaders have also implemented far-reaching governance reforms designed to promote government transparency and increase public participation in official policymaking. What are the motivations behind these reforms and, more importantly, what impact are they having? This puzzle lies at the heart of Chinese politics and could dictate China’s political trajectory for years to come.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This extensive collaborative study not only documents the origins and scope of these reforms across China, but offers the first systematic assessment by quantitatively and qualitatively analyzing the impact of participation and transparency on important governance outcomes. Comparing across provinces and over time, the authors argue the reforms are resulting in lower corruption and enhanced legal compliance, but these outcomes also depend on a broader societal ecosystem that includes an active media and robust civil society.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The primary unit of analysis is the Chinese province, an administrative unit which is the primary conduit for the governance outcomes and administrative procedures being researched. Accordingly, archival research and original measurement activities focused on provincial data and resources.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Provincial interview targets were selected based on observational analysis of archival data. Efforts were made to select high leverage provinces as well as provinces that shared similar characteristics but differed on key parameters of interest.&lt;/p&gt;

The underlying intent of this research project was to provide practical tools and useful insights for development practitioners, Chinese policymakers, and international observers of Chinese politics. Development practitioners would ideally have improved indicators for monitoring programs supporting governance reforms, in China or elsewhere, while national and local Chinese policymakers could better evaluate the success and impact of reforms by tracking progress more precisely and tailoring new policies to build on current initiatives in effective ways. For their part, international observers and scholars would have a clearer understanding of China’s unique modes of governance, including new insights into the Chinese development model. As such, the data collected corresponds to prominent themes explored by the development community and students of comparative politics.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The present data are 22 selected elite interviews. Sensitive portions of the qualitative interview data have been redacted to protect those involved. Specifically, interviewee names and other identifiers have been redacted in most instances. Institutional and geographic affiliation has been retained in all instances.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A companion dataset with quantitative indicators and replication files is &lt;a href="https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/HUDFFC"&gt;available via the Harvard Dataverse&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
description: Update Notes for Version 2.0
Version 2.0 is a QDR-administered technical update. Files have been reprocessed to improve digital accessibility; the content of materials remains unaltered.