Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword -- Preface (editor's word) -- Expenditure assignments within a framework of decentralization -- Public finance, the role of the state and economic transformation in China: 1978- 2020 / by Athar Hussain and Nicholas Stern -- Intergovernmental fiscal reform, expenditure assignment and governance / by David Dollar and Bert Hofman -- Expenditure assignments in China / by Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, Baoyun Qiao, Shuilin Wang and Heng-Fu Zou -- Fiscal reform and revenue assignments -- China's fiscal policy and reform: toward realizing a harmonious society / by Teresa Ter-Minassian and Annalisa Fedelino -- Taxation reform and sequencing of intergovernmental reform in China : preconditions for a Xiaokang society / by Ehtisham Ahmad -- Conformity between revenue attribution and its revenue source: new rule on inter-local governmental revenue division in China / by Shanda Xu and Daoshu Wang -- Intergovernmental fiscal relations and transfers -- Fine tuning the intergovernmental transfer system to achieve a harmonious society and a level playing field for regional development in China / by Anwar Shah and Chunli Shen -- China's reform process of intergovernmental relations and lessons learnt / by Jiwei Lou -- Managing sub-national borrowing: reform options for China / by Lili Liu -- Education and innovation financing -- The challenge of life long learning for education finance in China / by Carl Dahlman, Douglas Zhihua Zeng and Shuilin Wang -- Financing basic education in China / by Shaochun Zhang -- Strengthening China's technological capability / by Shahid Yusuf and Kaoru Nabeshima -- The public health system: access, services delivery and financing -- Public health in China: challenges and intended reforms / by Qiang Gao -- Health reform in rural China: where next? / by Adam Wagstaff and Magnus Lindelow -- Financing public health in China / by David B. Evans -- Social protection and social security -- Growth, inequality and fiscal policy from a historical perspective: are there lessons for China? / by Francois Bourguignon -- Realizing the potential of China's social security pension system / by Martin Feldstein -- Notional defined contribution: an approach to pension reform worthy of consideration / by Jiange Li -- A public safety net for China's old and new poor? / by Martin Ravallion and Shaohua Chen.