ABSTRACT
Shaanxi's expenence with reform has not been a walk in the park. The province has struggled since 1978 to define a reform strategy and execute it. Provincial officials have been slow to implement reform policies, and the province has dropped dramatically in national economic rankings. Part of the reason for Shaanxi's difficulties are structural: as an interior province, it has been deliberately excluded from the focus of the national reform campaign. This is true in part by design, since coastal provinces have been selected to "get rich first," and in part by circumstance, since Shaanxi's location and economy leave it poorly equipped to compete effectively with the coast. During the period of reform, the province has suffered from a dramatic drop in central largess, in terms of both capital and favorable policies.
