Date and Time
October 4, 2004
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM

Availability
Open to the public
No RSVP required

Speaker
Jean C. Oi - Stanford University

Many township governments across China cannot pay their bills or get loans due to their bad credit. Wages are owed to local leaders and workers. Drawing on data collected in 20 townships spread over 10 provinces in China, Jean Oi will examine the causes of this debt and address why some townships have been able to escape financial disaster while others have not. She will explore the political logic that prompts township officials to continue feeding a bloated bureaucracy and hide their economic failings rather than take steps to reduce debt. Underlying the issue of local government debt are the political consequences for peasant-state relations and grassroots governance.

China Brown Bag Series