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Legitimate Deficit: Competitive Bidding in a Residual and Semi-democratic Welfare Society

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Zhuoyi Wen  and
Alice M. L. Chong
Zhuoyi Wen*
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Alice M. L. Chong
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
*
e-mail: wenzhuoyi@msn.com
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Abstract

Competitive bidding for public subsidy allocation for welfare services has been widely applied in established welfare states since the 1980s. Studies conducted in these countries have inclined to understand competitive bidding as a financing initiative and use an array of “failure theories” to explain its challenges and failures. In contrast to these studies, the present study focuses on Hong Kong, a residual and semi-democratic welfare state, and investigates competitive bidding as a governmental policy instrument designed to increase the legitimacy of subsidy award decisions. Based on an analysis of submissions in a recent policy review and a review of existing policy documents, we suggest that the government may have increased its decision-making power over NGOs, resulting in little advancement, neither regarding welfare mix, nor concerning the legitimacy of resource allocation.

Résumé

Résumé

Depuis les années 1980, les états bénéficiant d’un dispositif d’aide sociale établi ont largement utilisé les appels à la concurrence pour allouer des subventions publiques aux services d’aide sociale. Les études menées dans ces pays tendent à interpréter l’appel à la concurrence comme une initiative de financement, et font appel à toute une gamme de « théories de défaillance » pour expliquer les défis que pose cette pratique ainsi que ses échecs. La présente étude se concentre sur Hong Kong, un état semi-démocratique disposant d’un système d’aide sociale résiduel, et se distingue des précédentes études en examinant l’appel à la concurrence comme un instrument de politique gouvernementale conçu pour accroître la légitimité des décisions d’attributions de subventions. L’analyse des candidatures dans un récent examen de la politique et la revue des documents de politique existants nous permettent de suggérer que le gouvernement pourrait avoir gagné du pouvoir décisionnel au détriment des ONG, n’entraînant qu’un faible progrès qui ne profite ni à la répartition de l’aide sociale ni à la légitimité de l’allocation de ressources.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung

Ausschreibungsverfahren bei der Zuteilung öffentlicher Subventionen für Sozialeinrichtungen sind in etablierten Sozialstaaten seit den achtziger Jahren weit verbreitet. Studien in diesen Ländern neigen dazu, das Ausschreibungsverfahren als eine Finanzierungsinitiative zu verstehen und stützen sich zur Erklärung seiner Probleme und Misserfolge auf eine Reihe von „Versagenstheorien“. Im Gegensatz zu diesen Studien konzentriert sich die vorliegende Studie auf Hongkong, einem residualen und semidemokratischen Sozialstaat, und untersucht die Ausschreibungsverfahren als ein politisches Instrument der Regierung zur Erhöhung der Legitimität von Entscheidungen über die Bereitstellung von Subventionen. Beruhend auf einer Analyse von Ausführungen im Rahmen einer kürzlichen Überprüfung von politischen Richtlinien sowie einer Prüfung von Dokumenten zu bestehenden politischen Richtlinien behaupten wir, dass die Regierung ihre Entscheidungsgewalt gegenüber nicht-staatlichen Organisationen unter Umständen erhöht hat, was den Wohlfahrtsmix und die Legitimität der Ressourcenzuteilung nur wenig voran gebracht hat.

Resumen

Resumen

La licitación competitiva para la asignación de subsidios públicos para servicios de bienestar ha sido aplicada ampliamente en los estados de bienestar establecidos desde los años 1980. Los estudios realizados en estos países se han inclinado a entender la licitación competitiva como una iniciativa de financiación y utilizan una serie de “teorías del fracaso” para explicar sus retos y fracasos. En contraste con estos estudios, el presente estudio se centra en Hong Kong, un estado de bienestar semidemocrático y residual, e investiga la licitación competitiva como un instrumento de la política gubernamental diseñado para aumentar la legitimidad de las decisiones de concesión de subsidios. Basándonos en un análisis de presentaciones en una revisión reciente de la política y en una revisión de documentos de política existentes, sugerimos que el gobierno puede haber aumentado su poder en la toma de decisiones sobre las ONG, dando lugar a poco avance, tanto en relación con el mix de bienestar, como en relación con la legitimidad de la asignación de los recursos.

摘要

摘要

自二十世纪80年代起,竞标被广泛用于发达福利国家的福利服务资助分配。对这些国家进行的研究倾向将竞标视为融资手段,并运用各种“失败理论”以解释其挑战和失败。与这些研究不同,本项研究专注于一个半民主的剩余型福利国家——香港,并将竞标视作政府的政策工具,以增强资助分配决定的合法性。通过分析最近一次政策评估中利益相关者提交的意见和现有政策文本,研究发现,竞标增加了政府对非营利组织的权力,但在福利混合与资源分配合法性方面都改甚微。

要約

要約

福祉サービスの公共助成金割当の競争入札は、1980 年代以来確立された福祉国家では広く適用されている。これらの国で実施された研究では、資金調達イニシアチブとして競争入札を理解して、「破壊理論」の配列を使用する傾向があり、失敗と課題を説明している。これらの研究とは対照的に、本研究では半民主主義福祉国家である香港に焦点を当てるが、助成金の決定の正当性を向上させる政府の政策としての競争入札を調査する。最近の政策の見直し、既存の政策文書の見直しにおける提案の分析に基づいて、政府が NGOに対する意思決定権を増大させていることを提示する。進歩がなく福祉ミックスに関するもの、資金割当の正当性に関するものは除外する。

ملخص

ملخص

قد تم تطبيق العطاءات التنافسية لتخصيص الإعانات العامة لخدمات الرعاية على نطاق واسع في دول الرفاهية الراسخة منذ 1980. قد تميل الدراسات التي أجريت في هذه البلدان إلى فهم العطاءات التنافسية كمبادرة للتمويل وإستخدام مجموعة من “نظريات الفشل” لشرح تحدياتها وإخفاقاتها. على النقيض من هذه الدراسات، تركز هذه الدراسة على هونج كونج، الحكومة المتبقية وشبه ديمقراطية ذات رفاهية، والتحقيق في العطاءات التنافسية كأداة من أدوات السياسة الحكومية تم تصميمها لزيادة شرعية دعم القرارات. إستنادا˝ إلى تحليل البيانات الواردة في إستعراض السياسات الأخيرة ومراجعة وثائق السياسة القائمة، فإننا نقترح أن الحكومة قد زادت سلطة إتخاذ قرارها على المنظمات الغير حكومية(NGOs)، مما أدى إلى تقدم قليل، لا فيما يتعلق بمزيج الرفاهية، ولا بشأن شرعية تخصيص الموارد.

Keywords

Competitive biddingPolicy instrumentPolicy networkWelfare NGOsHong Kong

Information

Type
Original Paper
Information
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations , Volume 25 , Issue 5 , October 2014 , pp. 1214 - 1234
Copyright
Copyright © International Society for Third-Sector Research and The Johns Hopkins University 2014

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