A Comparative Analysis of Civil Service Development in the People's Republic of China and the United States of America

摘要

Since the 1993 landmark civil service reform in China major efforts have been made to routinize and codify the reform principles. These efforts resulted in formal adoption of a civil service law by the People's Congress in April of 2005. This paper describes those developments, places them in the context of broader developments in China during the decade, and compares them to the historical development of civil service in the United States. While significant differences appear, remarkable economic and political similarities emerge. Particularly salient is the role of educational systems in the civil service development of both countries. Surprisingly, given the differences in the political systems of the United States and the People's Republic, this comparative analysis finds in the civil service development of both countries a common struggle to balance merit and efficiency with political accountability.