注意力内卷:理解基层政府创新泛化的逻辑——以F县综合考核指标演变为例

Attention Involution:Understanding the Logic Behind the Proliferation of Grassroots Government Innovation,with A Case Study of the Evolution of Governance Comprehensive Assessment Indicators in County F

当前基层政府创新发生了从少数事件向制度现象、从基层自主向上级指令、从工作亮点向竞争标的的转变过程,成为基层形式主义的重灾区。本文根据政府注意力分配的分析框架,尝试理解基层政府创新泛化的内在逻辑。调研发现,如果制度注意力能够满足领导发送政绩信号的需求,领导就会在制度注意力范畴内分配注意力,领导注意力分配的确定性较强,下级就缺乏竞争空间。若制度注意力配置弥散,无法满足领导发送政绩信号的需求,领导就会在制度外分配注意力,领导注意力分配就会出现不确定性,给下级较大竞争空间。“创新”具有合法性、显著性、易测性、包容性、异质性的特点,是制度外分配注意力的天然载体。县级职能部门、乡镇及其工作人员可以通过创新来争夺领导注意力,从而导致领导重视的事务越多,治理效果越不好,领导注意力出现内卷,政府创新出现泛化和形式主义化问题。

Grassroots government innovation have recently transformed from a few isolated and autonomous incidents into a widespread institutional phenomenon directed by higher authorities,and from work agenda to competition target,thus exacerbating formalism at the grassroots level.This paper employs an analytical framework of government attention distribution to explore the internal logic behind the proliferation of grassroots government innovation.Our research indicates that if institutional attention satisfies the need of leaders to signal their performance,leaders will allocate their attention within this realm,leading to a high degree of certainty of attention distribution and limited competitive space for subordinates.Conversely,when institutional attention is diffuse and cannot fulfill the leaders'signaling needs,leaders will allocate attention outside the institutional framework,resulting in uncertainty and greater competitive space for subordinates.“Innovation”possesses characteristics of legitimacy,salience,measurability,inclusiveness,and heterogeneity,making it an ideal vehicle for attention allocation outside institutional parameters.Consequently,county-level departments,townships,and their staff can leverage innovation to capture leaders'attention,leading to an increase in the matters prioritized by leaders,which paradoxically worsens governance outcomes.This results in an involution of leaders'attention and the proliferation and formalism of government innovation.