Irresponsible state: local cadres and image-building in China

Existing research on the role of the state ibn economic development tends to categorize the state as developmental or predatory according to how it makes decisions and allocates resources. However, this characterization does not capture the scenario where the states engages in activities that are beyond the developmental-predatory spectrum. State agents may make decisions and allocate resources neither for real development nor for predatory purposes, but to enhance their own image, leading to a waste of public resources. An exploration of this phenomenon promotes our understanding of the role a state may play. White irresponsible behaviour among state agents may not be unique to a particular country, in the case of China, because of the country's political arrangements, local state agents have both incentive and opportunity for making irresponsible decisions and misusing resources.