Participatory Governance in Rural China the Impact of Formal and Informal Institutions on the Provision of Public Goods

Objective. This study utilized a national representative dataset to explore the different roles of formal and informal institutions in facilitating the provision of public goods in rural China and the dynamics between these two institutions.

Methods. This study used the community level data set of the 2010 Chinese Family Panel Study (CFPS) collected by Peking University. Overall there were 327 rural villages in the dataset. Robust negative binominal regressions were conducted on the relationship of formal and informal institutions with facilities and utilities access in rural Chinese villages. The interaction and correlation between formal and informal institutions were also examined.

Results. This study found that those formal and informal institutions played different roles in providing different types of pubic goods. The informal institutions were found to be positively correlated with the expected number of village level facilities, but not significantly correlated with the expected number of accessible utilities. Accessible utilities were significantly correlated to the presence of formal institutions. The interaction between formal and informal institutions on public goods provision was not significant, but the formal and informal institutions were positively correlated to each other.

Conclusions. These findings indicated that the roles of informal institutions are not sufficient in providing large-scale sustainable public goods, and so improving the quality of elections that safeguard the functioning of formal institutions is crucial. Social workers can utilize both spaces to facilitate participation from local people in holding government officials accountable in improving the well being of all.