“China is a country that has been growing the fastest, for the longest period of time, in all of the human history. For the first time in the history, a developing country with only 25% of GDP per capita as compared to US, is at a cutting edge of technology and leading it in many ways”, Dr. Keyu Jin, PhD from Harvard, and professor of Economics.

This huge economic success has been attributed, to a greater extent, to the Local Governments of China. These Local Governments are adequately autonomous, resourceful, and target oriented. She has termed it “The Mayor Economy”.

We, in Pakistan are repeatedly and painfully “missing” the miracles of this powerful government tool.

Mayor economies work efficiently in China due to the economic decentralization. China is politically centralized, and economically decentralized. Central government focuses on making policies and setting targets. They set the GDP Growth Targets for the country as well as for the provinces. And this is where the “GDP Growth Race” starts at the local government level.

The provincial GDP growth targets are passed down to the Prefecture-level cities, counties, towns, and villages. All of these administrative divisions are run by their respective mayors.

Once the Mayors get the GDP targets from their provincial heads, they zero in on achieving these targets. They set their focus on private firms. They know the crucial role these firms can play in economic development. In the words of Dr. Jin,

“If you are a tech company, Local Governments will move mountains to accommodate you and make you successful. They will remove red tape, find you more financing, offer land at discounted rates, and even arrange spouses for your employees. They are a one stop shop, as they like to call themselves. It is a marriage between hyper- charged local government officials and intrepid entrepreneurs”. This is the dynamic spirit of a Mayor Economy.“

Chinese economists Chong-En Bai, and Zheng Song researched about the rise of Chinese firms. They visited south China. They found that the primary focus of local governments was to attract and support private businesses. Vice........

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