Preview of the 38th Xi Xian Forum: Gan Li: The Three Guarantees at the Grassroots Level in China as an Example of Research Topic Selection
Topic: The Three Guarantees at the Grassroots Level in China as an Example of Research Topic Selection
The characteristics and dilemmas of grass-roots "three guarantees" expenditures were analysed using 2016 and 2018 data from the Chinese local government financial budget database constructed by the China Household Finance Survey and Research Centre. The results show that when fiscal transfers are taken into account, the shortfall in grass-roots "three guarantees" expenditures can be covered. Further evidence suggests that the main reason for the decline in the proportion of grass-roots "three guarantees" expenditure is that local governments do not prioritise "three guarantees" expenditure. However, from the perspective of the structure of grass-roots "three guarantees" expenditure, the proportion of wage protection expenditure has been rising year by year, while the expenditure on basic livelihood protection has been declining; the growth of the scale of district and county financial expenditures has a decreasing incentive effect on the expenditures on wage protection, operation and basic livelihood protection, and the lower the economic level, the higher the rate of growth of the wage protection expenditure of the districts and counties. Therefore, the key measures to alleviate the pressure of "three guarantees" at the grassroots level are to guarantee the priority of "three guarantees" expenditures, more clearly and strictly stipulate the attributes of "three guarantees" expenditures earmarked for specific purposes and their structural relationship, and at least ensure the protection of basic livelihood.
Speaker Profile: Gan Li
Professor Gan is the Director of the Chinese Household Finance Survey and Research Centre at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, and the Clifford Taylor Jr. Professor of Economics at Texas A&M University. He received his B.S. degree from the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University in 1987, and his M.S. degree in Statistics and Ph.D. degree in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1998. He has published numerous academic papers in both English and Chinese in the areas of the Chinese economy and applied microeconomics. in 2009, Professor Gan initiated and has been leading the China Household Finance Survey at the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. The survey is conducted every two years and continuously tracks 40,000 representative households nationwide. Six rounds of household surveys have been completed. The database is now one of the main microfoundations for domestic and international academic research on Chinese household economic behaviour.
Time: 14:30-16:00, Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Moderator: Zhang Kezhong (Dean of the Institute of Public Finance and Taxation, Professor, PhD Supervisor, Deputy Director of IIDPF).
Venue: Conference Room 119, Wenqin Building