摘要：计划体制下的基础教育财政制度低效运行是1985年基础教育财政分权化改革的直接诱因。以"放权让利"为主调的农村经济体制、财政预算管理体制和城市国有企业改革的启动,构成了此次基础教育财政预制度变迁的制度环境。实证结果显示,改革后基础教育财政制度运行绩效要明显优于改革前,分权化改革达到了制度设计者的预期目标——增加基础教育投入以扩充儿童入学的机会。

摘要：I. Introduction In the extensive debates on the industrialization or rather commercialization of education （jiaoyu chanyehua） and on the financing of basic education in China, owing to the lack of guidance from general equilibrium theory, many conclusions have been drawn that appear right but are actually wrong. People have observed that ever since the mid1980s, when reforms were carried out in the system of basic education finance, serious inequalities in the financing of basic education have appeared between different regions and between urban and rural areas.2 At the same time, within cities themselves, major changes have occurred regarding the allocation of resources within the basic education sector. With the advent of marketization-oriented reforms, social groups differentiated by income and social status have exhibited different behavior concerning choice of residence and school.