Intense Monitoring and Bureaucratic Support for an Anti-poverty Campaign in China

In China, major policy initiatives are often implemented through campaign-style mobilisation which seeks to increase bureaucratic responsiveness through intensified monitoring activities. Little is known about the views of street-level bureaucrats regarding the mobilisation approach. This article argues that draconian monitoring measures have placed bureaucrats in a highly stressful working environment and lowered their morale. Through these mechanisms, intense monitoring can undermine bureaucratic support for central policy campaigns. Data from a national survey of rural officials responsible for implementing the targeted poverty alleviation (TPA) programme support the argument. The findings imply that while campaign mobilisation can deliver immediate policy results, its negative impact on bureaucratic morale and capacity should not be ignored.