Purpose: Under the new policy framework, the China Government will substantially increase education resources investment. As a result, financial under-provision of schools will not be the main problem in the near future. However, school efficiency will emerge as the new factor in attracting the attention of the government and the public in China,…

Based on a survey of rural school districts in Western China, this essay explores the effects of fiscal centralisation on the relationship between local governance and school district management, most particularly on how managerial power is distributed in the rural education sector. The essay also examines some of the possible effects that changes…