The Hukou system as one of the institutional barriers for the emergence of the middle class in China

Abstract

The household registration system (hukou) in China has been created and maintained for deep political, economic and social reasons. The system was introduced by the PRC government in the 1950s and became the main mechanism for regulating relations between people and allocating resources. System assumes that every resident of China will study, work, receive social services only in the region in which was born. It made possible to ensure social and political stability and economic growth in China. At the same time, the hukou system increased economic and social disparities between urban and rural areas. During the 1960s and the 1970s internal migration in China was practically absent because the hukousystem tied the citizens to their place of residence. It also “frozen” the social structure of Chinese society for a long time, as the residents of rural areas were provided with much less free services than those who lived in cities, including limited access to education and medical care, which in turn influenced the quality of life and the possibility of transition to a higher social class. In the 1980s due to the Deng Xiaoping’s reforms, China began to develop and enter the world market, a large number of special economic zones sprang up, which stimulated an increase in demand for labor in cities. The central government began to give relief in the hukou system, gave opportunities for labor migration. In modern China the hukou system plays the role of a “sieve”. It weeds out most of the population and passes through only a certain number of highly qualified personnel who will later become the new middle class of the country. This article attempts to look at the evolution and the main stages of the hukou system, exploring how the system has changed throughout the modern history of China.