The Status and Prospects of Informal Employment Development in China in the Post-Pandemic Era Based on the Perspective of Bourdieu's Theory of Practice

Abstract

With the rapid development of Chinas market economy and urbanization, Chinas informal economy has also developed rapidly, and the number of people in informal employment has been increasing. Academics often hold a dualistic perspective on the emergence of informal employment, and in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, neo-Marxist and neo-liberal perspectives emerged. These theories are of some significance in understanding the rise of informal employment in China, but they are not sufficiently comprehensive and detailed, and are difficult to provide a more accurate theoretical basis for decision-making. This paper explores Bourdieus theory of practice and recognizes that the informal employment population includes both rural-to-urban and urban-to-urban categories, the latter being more complex. In the post-pandemic era, faced with the background of boosting employment, promoting consumption and restoring the economy, how to guide the informal economy to high-quality development has become an issue that policymakers must consider.