Paper Title
Key Issues in Land Use Policy and Local Government Behavior in China

Abstract
Globalization, marketization and decentralization process have changed the role of central – local state in land governance and land-use making policies in China. This paper comprehensively analyzes the key issues including land ownership, land acquisition and land financing mechanism of China in the period of transitional economy and institutional reform. These issues reflect the idea of socialist land regimes that strengthen the state’s power to direct and discipline the domestic property markets. Under the pressures of local fiscal shortages and regional competition, the local authorities, empowered by land policies, are highly motivated to increase the production of space through land development to bolster economic growth, and to express entrepreneurial behavior through land seeking or growth coalition. Keywords- China, Decentralization, Land use Policy, Local Government, State