地方政策创新如何上升为国家行动:一个政策属性的分析视角——基于河长制的案例观察

How Can Local Policy Innovations Lead to National Action:From an Analytical Perspective of Policy Attributes——A Case Study of the River Chief System

地方政策创新被视为改革开放以来创造“中国奇迹”的重要因素,学术界对此进行了大量讨论,但从政策属性分析地方政策创新上升为国家行动的研究积累还需拓展。因此,基于多源流理论框架,借助河长制这一水治理的中国创新方案,尝试从政策属性的视角阐释地方政策创新上升为国家行动的运行过程和影响因素。研究发现:河长制所蕴含的“价值可接受性”与“技术可行性”的政策属性,使其政策方案最大限度适配了新时期国家治理需求,是河长制能够从地方政策创新上升为国家行动的核心要素。具体而言,河长制适配了管理体制稳定与治理机制灵活相协调的选择原则、政策效用与政策成本相均衡的选择标准、地方创新实践与中央权威调控相结合的选择模式。这一研究有助于理解中国之治的运行特征,也能够为地方政策创新提供有益启示。

In the years since Reform and Opening Up,Local policy innovations in China has been regarded as an essential factor in creating the“Chinese Miracle”.There has been a lot of discussion about this academic problem.However,from the perspective of policy attributes,it is still necessary to expand the studies on the ways in which local policy innovations can lead to national action.Based on the Multiple Streams Framework and with the help of the river chief system as a Chinese innovation program for water environment treatment,the paper attempts to explain the policy process and influencing factors that how local policy innovations can lead to national action from the perspective of policy attributes.We can see that“value acceptable”and“technically feasible”are the two policy attributes of the river chief system,which promote its policy options to adapt to Chi⁃na’s governance system in a new period,and are the core elements affecting its rise from local policy innova⁃tions to national action.Specifically,the river chief system fits the selection principle of coordinating the stabili⁃ty of the political system with the flexibility of the governance mechanism,the selection criterion of balancing the policy utility with the policy cost,and the selection mode of combining local policy innovations with the au⁃thoritative regulation of the central government.Our findings provide not only insights into China’s politics,but also useful information for local policy innovations.