Decentralising Unitary Governments Without a Map: Learning How to Salsa When We Only Know How to Waltz

This paper examines disparities between unitary central governments and local governments in how environmental policy is defined and implemented at the local level. This is done within the context of northeast Asia, where results can often differ from expectations driven by traditional models of local government behaviour offered by the West. A theoretical measure for policy distance between the central government and its subsidiaries is constructed and then operationalised in a comparative context within northeastern China and the Republic of Korea. Using local and national budget data from 23 cities with histories of environmental issues (13 in northeast China and 10 in South Korea), the author’s measure of policy distance between the centre and the periphery is tested. The paper finds that, contrary to traditional model expectations,