Marketization and Market Capacity: The Formation of Middle Class in China—An Empirical Study in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou

Abstract

In the post-reform China, the middle class remains relatively weak despite its expanding size, which is a basic structural feature of the Chinese society. How to develop the Chinese middle class has become one important issue in the middle-class research. It is suggested that three approaches can be relied on to develop Chinese’s middle class: education, expertise, and the market. Based on the three approaches, as well as data from the Survey of Living Conditions of Residents in Megacities, this study analyzes how the middle class is formed in China from the perspective of marketization and market capacity.