Igniting Budgetary Reform I

After 15 years of waiting, it now appears hopeful that revisions will finally be made to China's Budget Law. This would be a major step in the country's present efforts at budget reform – but only a first step.

At a time when China's government collects and spends around 10 trillion yuan each year, it may be hard to understand why the current budget law is surprisingly unable to provide an authoritative, effective foundation for the task of dividing up national wealth. In fact, rather than a mere "revision" of the law, what is really needed is a full scale "reconstruction."