Strategic ambiguity in policy formulation: exploring the function of the term "township and village enterprises" in china's industrial ownership reforms

Ambiguity in policy formulation is a strategy setup with multifarious institutional flexibilities that maintain the credibility of functioning institutions. In the framework of the 'credibility thesis' as introduced by Peter Ho, this article posits that Chinese policymakers intentionally o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of Chinese governance Vol. 6; no. 2; pp. 232 - 256
Main Authors Dai, Shuanping, Taube, Markus
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 03.04.2021
Subjects
credibility thesis
networks of institutions
policy formulation
Strategic ambiguity
township and village enterprises
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Summary:Ambiguity in policy formulation is a strategy setup with multifarious institutional flexibilities that maintain the credibility of functioning institutions. In the framework of the 'credibility thesis' as introduced by Peter Ho, this article posits that Chinese policymakers intentionally or unintentionally made a smart choice in coining the highly ambiguous term 'TVEs' for promoting institutional reforms on property rights, and providing a unique buffering effect for a (comparatively) smooth policy transition towards increasingly liberal reform agendas. Furthermore, TVEs' content was evolving through time and consistently adapting to the interactions among various stakeholders in the reform process. The conceptual '3C' model of strategic ambiguity in policy formulation elaborated by the evidence of TVEs might be an approach for China's policy studies.
ISSN:2381-2346
2381-2354
DOI:10.1080/23812346.2020.1809272