Factors Contributing to Social Risk Management in China: Evaluation in the Context of SSRA Initiative

Abstract

Managing social risk has become a policy concern in contemporary public administration. In China, the Social Stability Risk Assessment (SSRA) was conceived as a government-driven and performance-based system to tackle the challenges of social instability, with the last decade witnessing an increasing imperative to promote its implementation. In practice, local administrations have asserted the importance of social risk management in improving the capability of handling uncertainties, yet studies on SSRA effectiveness are relatively limited. To fill the gap, this paper examines factors for mobilizing local administrators in implementing effective SSRA enforcement through a framework constructed from the perspective of government agencies. Using field survey data collected from four provincial regions, we refined five theoretical constructs and affiliated thirty-five items critical for SSRA operational effectiveness, and found that administrative intervention by the local government plays a crucial role. This study contributes to an understanding of China’s social risk management practice, and offers assessment criteria to monitor its effectiveness in public administration.

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