ABSTRACT
In discussing institutional design and corruption in China, the cadre recruitment system deserves special attention. First, with devolution of economic power and separation of the party and government, cadre management is left as a key area of CCP authority (Bo 2004: 70–100). Second, the surge of corruption cases among local party and government chiefs, especially since the late 1990s, raises the question of how so many of them have managed to get promoted to key positions in the first place. Finally, an assumed link between a non-competitive recruitment system and corruption lies at the core of frequent criticisms about China’s political system. A fair question can thus be asked whether cadre recruitment itself is a major source of the country’s corruption problem.
