New development: China's budget law and local debt

Abstract

China's 20-year-old budget law has been revised to give greater power to the legislature and re-orient annual budgeting to a multi-year fiscal framework. In addition, provincial governments are now able to issue bonds. If the goals of these reform measures are realized, the institutional foundations for China's fiscal policy and management will be substantially strengthened. However, the authors are concerned that the authorities may have underestimated the technical challenges involved.

Keywords:

• Budget law
• Chinese fiscal reforms
• local debt
• public–private partnerships (PPPs)

This article is a result of the Innovation Programme of the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, China. The authors appreciate Professor James Chan's editorial advice and language assistance.