Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Understanding Policy Instruments for Steering Nonprofit Organizations in China: Only Carrots and Sticks?

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Government–nonprofit relations in China have transformed over the past three decades. Building on policy instrument theory, this article explores which policy instruments have been used to steer nonprofits at the central level and how the use of policy instruments has changed over time. This article is based on a content analysis of 300 central-level policy documents for nonprofits using NVivo. The results show that 22 kinds of policy instruments have been used to steer nonprofits. A steep upward trend is evident in the use of four categories of policy instruments for nonprofits: authority, incentive, information, and organization. Policy instruments for nonprofits have advanced in diversity, emphasizing indirect control. The central government continues to show a significant predisposition toward regulatory instruments, which have evolved from ex ante regulation to process and ex post regulation. This article contributes to the public management literature by identifying which policy instruments governments use to shape government–nonprofit relations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Source: Adapted from Hood (1983), Salamon (2002), and Howlett (2011)

Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. According to laws and regulations in China, nonprofit organizations include three major types: social groups, social service organizations (private non-enterprise entities), and foundations. The three types of nonprofit organizations cover a great diversity of entities. This study views nonprofit organizations in China as a single “sector” and does not distinguish these organizations.

  2. In this study, the central government refers to the organs of the CCP Central Committee, the NPC, the State Council and its ministries, the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Procuratorate in China, not only the State Council in the narrow sense.

References

  • Anheier, H. K. (2005). Nonprofit organizations: Theory, management, policy. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bemelmans-Videc, M. L., Rist, C. R., & Vedung, O. E. (1998). Carrots, sticks, and sermons: Policy instruments and their evaluation. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bies, A., & Kennedy, S. (2019). The state and the state of the art on philanthropy in China. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 30(4), 619–633.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burns, P. J. (1999). The People’s Republic of China at 50: National political reform. The China Quarterly, 159, 580–594.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burns, P. J. (2001). Public sector reform and the state: The case of China. Public Administration Quarterly, 24(4), 419–436.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chan, C. P., & Drewry, G. (2001). The 1998 State Council organizational streamlining: Personnel reduction and change of government function. Journal of Contemporary China, 10(29), 553–572.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, M. C. (2006). ‘This is our way in’: The civil society of environmental NGOs in South-West China. Government & Opposition, 41(1), 109–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feiock, R. C., Jeong, M., & Kim, J. (2003). Credible commitment and council-manager government: Implications for policy instrument choices. Public Administration Review, 63(5), 616–625.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feiock, R. C., Tavares, A. F., & Lubell, M. (2008). Policy instrument choices for growth management and land use regulation. Policy Studies Journal, 36(3), 461–480.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fulda, A., Li, Y., & Song, Q. (2012). New strategies of civil society in China: A case study of the network governance approach. Journal of Contemporary China, 21(76), 675–693.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gao, H., & Tyson, A. (2017). Administrative reform and the transfer of authority to social organizations in China. The China Quarterly, 232, 1050–1069.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ho, P. (2001). Greening without conflict? Environmentalism, NGOs and civil society in China. Development and Change, 32(5), 893–921.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hood, C. C. (1983). The tools of government. London: The Macmillan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howlett, M. (2011). Designing public policies: Principles and instruments. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsu, J. Y. J., & Hasmath, R. (2014). The local corporatist state and NGO relations in China. Journal of Contemporary China, 23(87), 516–534.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsu, J. Y. J., Hsu, C. L., & Hasmath, R. (2017). NGO strategies in an authoritarian context, and their implications for citizenship: The case of the People’s Republic of China. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 28(3), 1157–1179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang, Y. (2018). At the mercy of the state: Health philanthropy in China. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 30(4), 634–646.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchison, A. J., Johnston, L. H., & Breckon, J. D. (2010). Using QSR-NVivo to facilitate the development of a grounded theory project: An account of a worked example. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 13(4), 283–302.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jing, Y. (2015). Between control and empowerment: Governmental strategies towards the development of the non-profit sector in China. Asian Studies Review, 39(4), 589–608.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jing, Y., & Gong, T. (2012). Managed social innovation: The case of government-sponsored venture philanthropy in Shanghai. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 71(2), 233–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jing, Y., & Hu, Y. (2017). From service contracting to collaborative governance: Evolution of government-nonprofit relations. Public Administration and Development, 37(3), 191–202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, A., Wurzel, R. K. W., & Zito, A. (2005). The rise of “new” policy instruments in comparative perspective: Has governance eclipsed government? Political Studies, 53(3), 477–496.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kang, X., & Han, H. (2008). Graduated controls: The state-society relationship in contemporary China. Modern China, 34(1), 36–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kwong, J. (2004). Educating migrant children: Negotiations between the state and civil society. The China Quarterly, 180, 1073–1088.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lan, Z. (1999). The 1998 administrative reform in China: Issues, challenges and prospects. Asian Journal of Public Administration, 21(1), 29–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, H., Lo, C. W. H., & Tang, S. Y. (2017). Nonprofit policy advocacy under authoritarianism. Public Administration Review, 77(1), 103–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, Y. (2013). Disability service organizations and their relationship with the Chinese government: A case study in Beijing. The China Review, 13(2), 67–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowi, T. J. (1972). Four systems of policy, politics, and choice. Public Administration Review, 32(4), 298–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonnell, L. M., & Elmore, R. F. (1987). Getting the job done: Alternative policy instruments. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 9(2), 133–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Civil Affairs, PRC. (2017). Statistical communiqué on the 2017 social service and development. Retrieved January 12, 2019, from https://www.mca.gov.cn/article/sj/tjgb/.

  • Perry, J. E. (1994). Trends in the study of Chinese politics: State-society relations. The China Quarterly, 139, 704–713.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saich, T. (2000). Negotiating the state: The development of social organizations in China. The China Quarterly, 161, 124–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salamon, M. L. (1987). Of market failure, voluntary failure, and third-party government: Toward a theory of government-nonprofit relations in the modern welfare state. Journal of Voluntary Action Research, 16(1–2), 29–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salamon, M. L. (1995). Partners in public services: Government-nonprofit relations in the modern welfare state. Baltimore, MD: JHU Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salamon, M. L. (2002). The tools of government: A guide to the new governance. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, A., & Ingram, H. (1990). Behavioral assumptions of policy tools. The Journal of Politics, 52(2), 510–529.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shieh, S., & Deng, G. (2011). An emerging civil society: The impact of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake on grass-roots associations in China. The China Journal, 65, 181–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shieh, S. (2013). Chinese NGO directory: 251 NGO profiles and special report: China’s Civil Society in the making. Beijing: China Development Brief.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, W. K. (2013). Civil Society in China: The legal framework from ancient times to the “New Reform Era”. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spires, J. A. (2011). Contingent symbiosis and civil society in an authoritarian state: Understanding the survival of China’s grassroots NGOs. American Journal of Sociology, 117(1), 1–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • State Council. (2013). The scheme for public sector reform and function change of the State Council. Retrieved January 12, 2019, from https://www.china.com.cn/news/2013lianghui/2013-03/14/content_28245220_3.htm.

  • Tang, S. Y., & Zhan, X. (2008). Civic environmental NGOs, civil society, and democratization in China. The Journal of Development Studies, 44(3), 425–448.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornton, M. P. (2013). The advance of the Party: Transformation or takeover of urban grassroots society? The China Quarterly, 213, 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wei, Q. (2017). From direct involvement to indirect control? A multilevel analysis of factors influencing Chinese foundations’ capacity for resource mobilization. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-017-9924-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, M., & Lin, H. (2016). Carrots and sticks: A case study of government-caused Danwei tradition in Chinese NGOs. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 27(5), 2027–2036.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yu, J., & Zhou, J. (2013). Local governance and business associations in Wenzhou: A model for the road to civil society in China? Journal of Contemporary China, 22(81), 394–408.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhan, X., & Tang, S. Y. (2013). Political opportunities, resource constraints and policy advocacy of environmental NGOs in China. Public Administration, 91(2), 381–399.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y. (2015). Dependent interdependence: The complicated dance of government-nonprofit relations in China. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 26(6), 2395–2423.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The Zejin Liu received a scholarship from the charity fund of the Zhangjiajie Genting Cultural Industry Development Co. to pursue doctoral studies.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Public Governance Institute, KU Leuven, Parkstraat 45, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Zejin Liu & Steven Van de Walle

Authors
  1. Zejin Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Steven Van de Walle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven Van de Walle.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The first author and second author declare that they do not have a conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendices

Appendix 1

See Table 3.

Table 3 Nodes of policy instruments from 300 central-level policy documents
Full size table

Appendix 2

See Table 4.

Table 4 Nodes of policy instruments from 36 key policy documents
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, Z., Van de Walle, S. Understanding Policy Instruments for Steering Nonprofit Organizations in China: Only Carrots and Sticks?. Voluntas 31, 736–750 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-020-00231-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-020-00231-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation