Prospects of Chinese Wage Reform: A Synergy of Market and Planning Systems

Sun, Li‐teh; Zhang, Shiying; Ge, Minghao

doi:10.1108/03068298910133115

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This is based on the heterogeneity hypothesis of human beings. That is to say, when individuals' marginal utility functions are different, maximization of social welfare requires unequal income distribution (Sun et al, 1989).…”

Section: Capitalism and Materials Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human development and economic systems: a unitary approach

Sun¹,

O'Brien

Jiang

2001

International Journal of Social Economics

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the success of the US economy at the end of the second millennium do not necessarily mean the end of socialism. In fact both capitalism and socialism are beneficial for a unitary human development, which consists of both material and spiritual development. Capitalism, with its emphasis on self‐interest and individual freedom, has been crucial to material development. But socialism, with its preference for other‐interest and collective necessity, is conducive to spiritual development. Thus, what is needed for further development of the human race is a unitary economics that synergizes capitalism and scoialism.

show abstract

Section: Capitalism and Materials Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human development and economic systems: a unitary approach

Sun¹,

O'Brien

Jiang

2001

International Journal of Social Economics

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Generally, there were eight grades for workers, fifteen grades for technical personnel, and twenty-five grades for cadres such as managers and administrative personnel (Campbell, 1987;Yue, 1985). Under this system, there were minimal wage differentials among employees and managers, and the entry level was very low (Shore, Eagle & Jedel, 1993;Sun, Zhang & Ge, 1989). The highest pay received in an enterprise was usually two to three times more than one in the lowest (Wang, 1997;.…”

Section: Centralization and Poor Enterprise Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is widely recognized that China has adopted a low-wage system since the founding of the PRC. One reason for this was that the wage is not determined by employee's contribution in the production process, nor by its market exchange value, but rather by the 'existential' value of the employees themselves (Sun, Zhang & Ge, 1989). While low wages may affect work motivation and thus productivity, the state was suffering the heavy burden of subsidizing employees, especially those in SOEs.…”

Section: Low Take-home Pay But High Subsidiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Reform of Employee Compensation in China’s Industrial Enterprises

Zhu

Cieri

Dowling

1998

Management and International Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Further, a common theme of recent pay reform in OECD countries is to enhance markets while reducing the role of the state. China, the largest socialist regime and the largest developing country in the world, has been unable to deal successfully with the problems of growth and distribution by using either an efficiency-oriented market or an equity-oriented planned pay system (Sun et al, 1988). Given its economic performance and its valuable experience, China may provide lessons for many other developing countries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How are they paid? A study of civil service pay in China

Chan

Ma²

2011

International Review of Administrative Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The importance of pay in developing a professional, effective, and honest civil service is widely recognized. The World Bank and OECD have made uninterrupted efforts to encourage many developing countries to carry out pay reform. This study provides useful information for researchers and practitioners to compare civil service pay reform between China and other developing countries. It assesses the level of civil service pay by comparing it with pay in other sectors in China, using updated and credible data recently made available. It clarifies several points in the debate over civil service pay in China and provides new perspectives on the issue of whether the civil service pay in China is high or low. The analysis and findings in this study will be of interest to researchers and practitioners beyond China because the Chinese experience with civil service pay reform has important points in common with similar reforms elsewhere. For example, the Chinese phenomenon of large, non-wage, largely unreported and unofficial, civil service pay in China resembles practices in developing nations such as Vietnam, Egypt, Tanzania, Zambia, and Uganda. Nonetheless, to the extent that pay reform is driven by internal circumstances, strategies and objectives are likely to differ even though the basic problems of wage disparities, anti-corruption, and low civil service performance are similar. Given its economic importance and valuable reform experiences, China may provide a model for reforms elsewhere. This study also provides a benchmark for future research and cautions researchers to view official pay scales potentially as serious understatements of actual remuneration. Points for practitioners Many developing and transitional countries have attempted to reform their pay systems, with mixed results. This study provides useful information for researchers and practitioners to compare civil service pay reform between China and other countries. China’s experience in establishing a new civil service pay system provides two useful lessons for practitioners elsewhere. First, the elimination of non-wage income is vital to successful pay reform. Second, reining in non-wage income requires budgetary reform, whereby off-budgetary funds that finance non-wage benefits are incorporated into the formal budget and subjected to proper supervision. China can also learn from other developing and transitional countries’ experiences, particularly with regard to public sector downsizing.

show abstract

Prospects of Chinese Wage Reform: A Synergy of Market and Planning Systems

Cited by 7 publications

References 1 publication

Human development and economic systems: a unitary approach

Human development and economic systems: a unitary approach

The Reform of Employee Compensation in China’s Industrial Enterprises

How are they paid? A study of civil service pay in China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About