Decentralization and its Impacts on Disability Service Delivery in China
Date
2024-07-16
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Abstract
Amidst the waves of neoliberalism diffused from the Global North, China and other countries in the Global South have adopted decentralization reforms since the 1980s as a strategic approach to drive economic development, improve administrative management, and enhance public service provision. However, empirical observations reveal a nuanced picture of the impacts on public service delivery. This chapter explores how the 1980s and 1990s decentralization reforms in China with its specific characteristics have influenced the disability service delivery by focusing on the provision of accessible government websites. Analyzing the stories of two Chinese municipalities, Wuhan and Shenzhen, this comparative case study identifies divergent outcomes in central-local disability policy transfer and subsequently disability service delivery across localities, arguably linked to the decentralization reforms in the last century. This chapter extends our understanding of the impacts of decentralization on both specific policy domins and societal progress in the Global South.
Description
Keywords
decentralization, disability service delivery, e-government, web accessibility, policy implementation, China, Global South, detsentraliseerimine, e-valitsemine, Hiina, veebilehe ligipääsetavus, globaalne lõuna, poliitika rakendamine, hoolekande teenuste osutamine