During August 7 to 10, SPEA teacher Xin Ge, invited by School of International and Public Policy; Hitotsubashi University, taught a course on Intergovernmental Relationship in China for their international graduate students major in Global Governance Program graduates in English.
School of International and Public Policy; Hitotsubashi University offers Contemporary Public Policy II course for their graduate class of Global Governance Program every year. This year’s course is presided by Dean Shinji Yamashige and taught by Japanese professor Misaka Sato and professor Xin Ge. Professor Misaka Sato taught on Intergovernmental Relationship in Japan. He elaborated Japanese public finance, the relationship between central and local governments, and the pros and cons of fiscal reform in economic terms. Professor Xin Ge’s lecture contents contains four lessons. The first lesson is Intergovernmental Fiscal Relationship in China. He recalls several major fiscal reforms since 1949 and their influence on central and local financial power and routine power. The second lesson is about Participatory Budgeting Reforms. He takes Wenling, Jiaozuo, and Qing County as examples, introduces different paths and courses of participated budgeting reform which emerges and is widely praised in recent years in China. The third lesson is Policy Innovation and Policy Entrepreneurs. He takes housing monetary reform in Guizhou as an example, explains various policy innovation systems, and demonstrates policy entrepreneurs’ potential role in such reforms. The last lesson is The Conflict and Cooperation between State and Society. He takes Shanghai and Beijng as examples, and highlights local governments’ different management methods on social organizations.
The lectures explain profound theories in simple terms. They take vivid cases and receive tremendous responses. Students discussed heatedly on the difference between Chinese and Japanese intergovernmental relationships and their courses, bring satisfying class atmosphere and teaching effect. After the course, Xin Ge had an in-depth communication with Professor Misaka Sato, Professor Watanabe Chino, Associate Professor Kodama Naomi, Associate Professor Takeuchi, and Doctor Yokoyama on changes of Chinese and Japanese intergovernmental relationships and contemporary political and economic relations between Japan and China.
This exchanging and teaching program is a part of the long-term cooperation between SPEA and School of International and Public Policy; Hitotsubashi University. Students and teachers from both sides agreed that this course, from a perspective of comparison, demonstrated intergovernmental relationship in the two important Asian countries, Japan and China, have enlarged their knowledge, expanded their vision, and benefited them a lot.
Article: Xin Ge