An inquiry into the Behavior of Government workers in Informal Institutional Restraint.

The most important factor of government behavior is the conduct of government functionary. It fully demonstrates the law enforcement and personnel management by the officeholders. The ultimate aim of the government reform is to maximize the operating efficiency at the smallest economic cost. A systematic structure is to be set up by re-combing and integrating government management, adjusting and clarifying the rights and responsibilities of decision-making, implementation and supervision, enabling the overall government behavior to run more scientifically and reasonably. However, the most important is the behavior problems of the government officeholders and their distorted acts can be seen in every government throughout history. There are many reasons for this: government departments in pursuit of their invisible income; emotional factors of likes or dislikes in decision-making process; the drive by economic interests; the negative effect of traditional culture. Formal system can not completely eliminate the distorted acts of government functionary. Informal system can effectively constrain their acts. The administrative culture belongs to the informal system. Constructing the cultural environment is a systematic way to regulate the government behavior. Government behavior, which is actually political, is the direct and dynamic exhibition of political relationship. It is social activities that people have to gain or realize the profits on the basis of given interests. The ultimate aim of the government reform is to use the smallest economic cost to maximize the operating efficiency. The recombination and integration of government management, the adjustment and clarity of the rights and responsibilities of decision-making, implementation and supervision undoubtedly aim at constructing a systematic framework to enable the overall government behavior to run more scientifically and reasonably. What really counts is the problem concerning government functionary’ conduct. The reason why government is organized is that people need constraint, which is the premise that rationality and justice are adopted by human beings to deal with their affairs. Meanwhile, people organize government for the need of public items. They hope government can provide inexpensive public goods and public services of high quality. The realization of people’s rights or benefits has the feature of group wisdom. People have found that through rational calculation it is very economic if an organization is endowed with power or right to realize the rights of commonness. Thus government emerges as the times require. Therefore, the first and most important duty of the government is to provide public goods. Rule by people can be carried out provided that people are of goodness; rule by law can be implemented on condition that people are vicious. From the perspective of human nature, if people were angels, government had not been required. If the people who are in government were angels, government did not need any exterior or interior control. The duality of good and vicious nature of people and the changeability under objective conditions make people realize the importance of system. In a sense, the system is a kind of stipulation that advocates virtues and suppresses unrighteousness. As far as the government and its people are concerned, system itself is a double-win constraint. The model of Leviathan government proposed by Hobbes tells that people create a Leviathan, a monster that can make people have a sense of home, to resist all kinds of external risks—the government. But the government of Leviathan has double characters. It is composed of people, and it is operated by people. Therefore, it has half-human and half-beast quality. It can eat people while giving the protection of human beings. So people have a highest ideal or dream that they can cage Leviathan. Although the model of Leviathan government is not applicable to all governments, we still have reasons to say that any government behavior must be bound and regulated.Since 1960s, the research on government behavior has become hot internationally and domestically. Numerous schools have emerged, such as, public choice theory, new school of economic theory, modern economic development theory, and external market failure theory. These theories mainly study the laws of the conduct of collective choice and government behavior in the eyes of economics.