本文針對中國大陸中央與地方關係中,橫跨菁英政治與資源分配兩個領域的文獻與研究主題,檢討現有文獻在理論概念與方法上,所呈現的十分關鍵但始終被學界忽略的缺失,然後提出解決的建議,並據以建立分析架構,進行實證分析,進而檢視在本文研究議題範圍內,中國大陸中央與地方關係產生的變化中,現有文獻所尚未探討之1993年以後的部分。而在整體討論中,一個主要的面向乃是各省區之間的水平權力關係,以及各省區與中央之間的垂直權力關係,應如何在概念上與經驗上加以釐清,在此部分本文提出共8項修正與重建,並作為實證分析的基礎,試圖為今後類似的研究建議基本方向,構築本研究領域內的新面貌。
This article seeks to critique some crucial yet under-noticed weaknesses in the extant literature that links elite politics and resource allocation in the area of China's contemporary central-local relations, as well as to suggest possible solutions and test such solutions with statistical analysis. In doing so, this article focuses in terms of temporal domain upon new developments after 1993 that are under-researched as of now. A key dimension highlighted in this article is the horizontal power relations among various provinces, versus the vertical power relations between the Center and all provinces. To tackle the conceptual and empirical problems on this dimension found in the existing literature, this article proposes eight propositions in order for modification and reconstruction. These eight propositions also underpin the statistical analysis conducted here. Together the critiques, propositions, and empirical scrutiny in this article are intended to provide a new and potentially more fruitful avenue for future research in this area.