The evolution of mandated coordination in policy implementation: Evidence from China's central government agencies

Policies are often mandated to be implemented by multiple agencies, and it is meaningful to explore the mechanisms and dynamics of interagency coordination. By employing structurally oriented theory from organization theory to analyze archival data, this study examines the structure and dynamics of mandated interagency coordination arrangements in China's central agencies (2005–2022). Given their intricacies, economic and social policies are the priorities of mandated coordination. The results show a dense and unbalanced coordination, in which powerful agencies dominate coordination. The results reveal that coordination across agencies has steadily increased over time despite intensive institutional mergers and consolidation.