发布时间：2026-05-11
Recently, the paper titled "Conditional Embeddedness: Local Government Attention Under Institutional Incentives," authored by Assistant Professor Wang Jiali from the College of Management and Economics at Tianjin University as the first author, Professor Du Huibin from the same College as a co-author, and Associate Professor Zhu Junming from the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University as the corresponding author, was published online in Public Administration Review, the only ABS 4* journal in the field of public administration.
Paper Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/puar.70131
This study constructs a theoretical framework of conditional embeddedness and conducts empirical analysis using the environmental target responsibility system reform. It systematically reveals the differentiated response mechanisms of local government attention allocation under institutional incentives, clarifying how vertical institutional reforms, regional and local political-economic contexts, and individual leader characteristics jointly and interactively influence changes in local government attention. The research adds new theoretical perspectives and empirical findings for understanding the prevalent principal-agent problems in the principal-agent relationship.
Article Abstract
Government attention is crucial for policy change and governance effectiveness. Existing research has explored various factors influencing government attention but lacks a holistic explanation of how local governments allocate their attention under the joint influence of multiple factors. Theoretically, this study constructs a conditional embeddedness framework, explaining that while agent attention variation is driven by the principal, the specific responses in different locations are influenced by regional and local political-economic embeddedness, and the extent of this influence varies depending on leader characteristics. Empirically, applying for information disclosure to obtain comprehensive government work reports and employing regression discontinuity design, cross-sectional regression, and moderating effect models, the study examines the attention responses of 328 prefecture-level cities in China to the environmental target responsibility system reform from 2001 to 2019. The findings show that top-down institutional incentives prompt local governments to allocate more attention to corresponding tasks, yet region-specific attention responses vary; political-economic embeddedness significantly affects the degree of local government attention responsiveness to central expectations; and leader characteristics moderate the effect of political-economic embeddedness on local government attention responses. The study demonstrates that local government attention allocation is a dynamic adjustment process shaped by the interplay of institutional incentives, structural embeddedness, and individual agency.
Public Administration Review (PAR) was founded in 1940 by the American Society for Public Administration and is published bimonthly. It is the only ABS 4* journal in the field of public administration. Consistently focusing on core issues in public administration, the journal is dedicated to connecting scholars and practitioners in the field, publishing high-quality research that advances theoretical innovation, policy analysis, and practical optimization in public administration. It holds an exceptionally high academic reputation internationally and serves as a premier platform for knowledge dissemination and policy discussion within public administration.
Author Biographies
Wang Jiali: Assistant Professor and Master's Supervisor at the College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University. Her main research interests include public policy analysis, environmental governance, and green and low-carbon transitions. Her research findings have been published in journals such as Public Administration Review and the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. She serves as Principal Investigator for a National Natural Science Foundation of China Young Scientist Grant (Category C) and has participated in major projects including the National Social Science Fund of China Major Project and the Ministry of Science and Technology's Key Research and Development Program International Cooperation Project. She is a recipient of the Second Prize for Outstanding Achievements in Philosophy and Social Sciences in Beijing.
Zhu Junming: Tenured Associate Professor and Associate Dean at the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University; National Young Talent. He serves as Principal Investigator for major projects including the National Social Science Fund Major Project and the National Key Research and Development Program (Intergovernmental Cooperation). He is also a Co-Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Journal of Industrial Ecology. His research findings have been published in journals such as Public Administration Review, Governance, the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and Nature Communications. He has received the First Prize for Outstanding Achievements in Philosophy and Social Sciences in Beijing and is recognized as a Highly Cited Chinese Researcher in Public Administration by Elsevier.
Du Huibin: Chair Professor at Tianjin University, Director of the Office of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Leading Talent, and Chief Scientist for a National Key Research and Development Program project. She serves as Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editor, respectively, for the international journals Global Economics Research and Structural Change and Economic Dynamics. Her research findings have been published in journals such as the Journal of Management Sciences in China and Nature Climate Change. Multiple policy advisory reports have received affirmative instructions from leaders at the provincial/ministerial level or higher. As the lead recipient, she has been awarded the First Prize for Tianjin Science and Technology Progress and the First Prize for Tianjin Social Science Outstanding Achievements.
