Role of the People’s Congress in Minhang Performance Budgeting Reform

Abstract

Shanghai’s Minhang District in 2008 started to push forward with people’s congress-led performance budgeting reform and, in contrast to other local budgeting reforms, it highlighted the leading role and functions of the people’s congress, made the quantity and quality of public goods and services the basis of the performance evaluation system, and consolidated solid public support for the reform. During the reform, the district creatively integrated people’s congress-approved development indicators and performance evaluation, set up professional evaluation organizations under the leadership of the people’s congress’s financial and economic committee, established people’s congress-led mechanisms for extensive participation and strict procedures, and improved the people’s congress’s accountability and motivation mechanisms. These measures greatly enhanced the public-oriented execution of performance budgeting.

This research paper was produced as part of “Role and Functions of Budget Amendments in Congress Budget Supervision” (project number: 103049), funded by the Postgraduate Innovation Capacity Development Fund of East China University of Politics and Law for the 2010–2011 period. An English version was accepted by the 8th Asian Law Institute Conference held in Kyushu University, Japan. The conference theme was “Sustainable Development of Law in Asian Countries,” and the paper was submitted under the topic of “Public Participation and Sustainable Development.”