TY - JOUR A1 - Kostka, Genia A1 - Hobbs, W. T1 - Local energy efficiency policy implementation in China: Bridging the gap between national priorities and local interests JF - The China Quarterly N2 - This paper analyses Chinese sub-national governments’ implementation strategies to meet national energy efficiency targets in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006–2010). Previous research has focused on the ways governance practices and decision-making structures shape implementation outcomes, yet very little attention has been given to what strategies local leaders actually employ to bridge national priorities with local interests. To illustrate how local leaders work politically, this paper highlights specific implementation methods officials use to strengthen formal incentives and create effective informal incentives to comply with energy efficiency mandates. The analysis is drawn from 53 interviews conducted in June and July of 2010 in Shanxi, a major coal-producing and energy-intensive province. Findings suggest that local government leaders conform to national directives by “bundling” the energy efficiency policy with policies of more pressing local importance or by “bundling” their energy efficiency objectives with the interests of groups with significant political influence. Ultimately, sub-national government officials frame policies in ways that give them legitimacy at the local level. KW - Policy implementation KW - Central-local relations KW - Energy KW - Informal incentives KW - Climate change KW - China Y1 - 2012 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-10850 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741012000860 SN - 0305-7410 VL - 211 SP - 765 EP - 785 PB - Cambridge Univ. Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kostka, Genia T1 - Mobility and agency: Private sector development in rural central China JF - The China Journal KW - Private sector KW - Corporations KW - Towns KW - Bank loans KW - Privately held corporations KW - Industrial management KW - County governments KW - Government officials KW - Electronic components KW - Business structures Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1086/665739 SN - 1324-9347 VL - 67 SP - 47 EP - 66 PB - The University of Chicago Press CY - Chicago ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kostka, Genia A1 - Eaton, Sarah T1 - China's green rise: Growing ambition, growing challenges Y1 - 2012 UR - http://opencanada.org/features/the-think-tank/essays/chinas-green-rise-growing-ambition-growing-challenges-2/ PB - CIC Canadian International Council CY - Toronto ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Kostka, Genia A1 - Harrison, Tom T1 - Manoeuvres for a low carbon state: The local politics of climate change in China and India T2 - Developmental Leadership Program - Series N2 - Debates about how to respond to climate change have largely focused on the difficulties in agreeing on national targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By assuming that the main obstacle to emissions reduction lies in the inability to reach agreement internationally, the current debate underplays the challenges of building the state capacity that will be needed to ensure mitigation takes place. Yet the implementation of mitigation strategies is far from straightforward. It requires careful balancing of competing priorities and deliberate strategies to bring different interest groups on board. We analyse the way this balancing act has been carried out in promoting energy efficiency measures in China and India. The balancing act has been done differently as each country has tailored its approach to the context of competing priorities and differing institutional capabilities. We encapsulate these differences by referring to China’s approach as ‘state-signalling’ and India’s approach as a ‘market-plus’ approach. China’s approach is more explicitly statist than India’s, but in both countries the state plays a central role in building the support base for its policies through processes that we describe as the bundling of policies and interests. KW - Local government KW - Sustainable growth Y1 - 2012 UR - http://publications.dlprog.org/Manoeuvres%20for%20a%20Low%20Carbon%20State.pdf IS - 22 PB - Universität Birmingham CY - Birmingham ER -