Dr Tingjin Lin is Jiangsu Distinguished Professor of Public Administration and Dean of Institute of Urban Development Studies, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, China. He also serves as an adjunct research fellow at the Nanyang Centre for Public Administration, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the Fairbank Centre for Chinese Studies, Harvard University, USA. His research focuses on public management and administration in China, specializing in public finance and public services delivery in China, fiscal behaviours of Chinese local government, and local political elites in China. His articles have appeared in China: an International Journal, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, and Chinese Society and Education.

• 1. Introduction 2. Developing Bureaucratic Framework 3. Personnel Rules and Education Equalization 4. 1994 Tax Reform and Provincial Fiscal Dependency 5. Personnel Rules, Fiscal Dependency and Education Inequality 6. Conclusions