Stratification In China Research Articles

Migration for school choice: urbanisation and rural social stratification in China

ABSTRACT The peidu trend has become prevalent in rural China in the last decade, with many rural children seen studying in urban schools accompanied by their adult family members in county capitals. Essentially, peidu is a practice of migration for school choice. However, unlike in the international context, this school choice phenomenon in rural China is not driven by marketisation reform, but by a strategy of the local government to achieve urbanisation. Based on questionnaires and interviews, this study reveals that peidu is stratified by family socioeconomic status. As the rural middle and top strata migrate out of the countryside by choosing urban schools for their children, rural schools further deteriorate and children of the most disadvantaged families are left behind in deeper struggles. Similar to school choice effects in other countries, peidu reinforces the rural-urban educational disparities and calls into question the urbanisation strategy in China.

Socioeconomic and gender disparities in depression among elderly Chinese individuals

The positive relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and health is well established in Western societies. However, while research mainly focuses on SES measures such as education and income, these measures may not completely capture the characteristics of social stratification in China. In the socio-historical context of China, for example, the work unit sector is a crucial SES factor. Yet, few health studies have paid attention to unique SES factors in China. Furthermore, women generally report worse mental health than men, but it is unclear whether this gender gap could be influenced by SES. In this article, using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we (1) expand SES measures to explore the impact of the work unit sector and use other SES measures, including Communist Party of China (CPC) membership and hukou (household registration) status, to examine the relationship between SES and depression and (2) investigate whether SES could modify the relationship between gender and depression. We find that all the SES measures negatively predict the depression symptoms of elderly individuals. We also find that women on average report higher depressive symptom scores than men. However, the gender differences in depressive symptom scores are smaller among elderly individuals with higher SES than among those with lower SES. We demonstrate that the work unit sector and CPC membership are crucial SES factors affecting the mental health of elderly Chinese individuals. Moreover, we show that the gender gap in depression could vary by SES, suggesting that women might benefit more from obtaining higher SES.

Comparative Study on the Stratification of Education between Urban and Rural Areas in China

Comparative Study on the Stratification of Education between Urban and Rural Areas in China

Shifting Narratives of Suzhi (Quality) and Suzhi Education: What Migrant and Rural Children in China Tell Us About the Changing Nature of Chinese Education

Using the comparative case study (CCS) method, this article compares the findings from a longitudinal ethnographic research project of rural children in Northwest China (2005–2012) and a second longitudinal study of migrant children in eastern China (2015–2019). It examines rural and migrant students’ and educators’ (re)interpretations and uses of suzhi (quality) and suzhi education in the context of rapid urbanization, various locations in between the city and the countryside, and how these usages problematize and challenge the rural-urban dualism embedded in the existing literature on rural and migrant children in China. These two studies explore how suzhi means different things for different stakeholders across time and place in both formal discourses, such as the curriculum, and in informal discourses, as seen in what educators and students value and practice. The article enriches theories on suzhi by showing how it: 1) reflects both the rural-urban gap and social stratification in China; and 2) reveals the shifting paradigm of suzhi education specifically and of education in China more broadly. The article also showcases how the CCS approach can be used to disrupt taken-for-granted categories and dichotomies, such as the urban-rural dualism, by closely examining concepts like suzhi across place, time, and with different groups of children.

Is shadow education a myth? How schools affect private tutoring in China

Shadow education, known as private tutoring, is expanding rapidly worldwide. While mainstream studies explain shadow education from a family-centered perspective, this study focuses on the role of the school. Using data from the China Panel Education Survey, this study discerns that active communications between schools and families can elicit private tutoring involvement. The school-initiated communications yield more positive and significant effects when schools impose heightened assessment pressure on teachers, suggesting an inextricable linkage between shadow education and formal schooling. The school effect is also more pronounced for economically disadvantaged families. These findings provide important insights for understanding how schools shape social stratification in China.

The problem of international class solidification in the post pandemic era -- An analysis based on Marxist theory

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the pandemic has significantly impacted the global economy and deeply affected social structures and class mobility. It has exacerbated income inequality, employment difficulties, and unequal distribution of social resources, leading to more pronounced social stratification. In China, despite government economic stimulus policies, small and medium-sized enterprises and the service industry have faced severe challenges, resulting in significant unemployment and income reduction among low-income workers. The rise of platform capitalism has introduced new labor relations, raising concerns about labor rights. This study uses a Marxist perspective to analyze post-pandemic social stratification in China, focusing on economic resource distribution, access to educational resources, and the effectiveness of social policies. The objective is to understand the structural causes and propose policy recommendations to promote social equity and mobility.

Unequal parenting in China: A study of socio-cultural and political effects

This study examines the parental socio-cultural and political effects on parenting practices in China. Based on the China Education Panel Survey, we construct a new typology of parenting styles – intensive, permissive, authoritarian and neglectful – and focus on intensive parenting as a particular mode in which the more privileged families in China use superior cultural and political resources to reinforce their advantages. We show that parents in higher class positions, with higher education and with membership in the leading Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tend to adopt intensive parenting as a means of securing all-round development and obtaining favourable academic achievement for their children. Parenting styles thus reflect a more complicated feature of social stratification in China than in Western societies.

Cost-effectiveness of precision screening for esophageal cancer based on individualized risk stratification in China: Real-world evidence from the ESECC trial.

Conventional universal endoscopic screening with pathology-based endoscopic re-examination for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is in need of reform in China. We established a "two-step" precision screening strategy using two risk prediction models and have evaluated the cost-effectiveness of this precision strategy compared with the traditional strategy based on a large population-level randomized controlled trial from a healthcare provider's perspective. Four precision screening strategies with different risk cutoffs at baseline screening and endoscopic surveillance were constructed, and then compared with traditional strategy through modeling using subjects from the screening cohort of the ESECC (Endoscopic Screening for Esophageal Cancer in China) trial. Total screening costs and the number of SDA (severe dysplasia and above in lesions of the esophagus) cases were obtained to calculate the average screening cost per SDA detected, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) and protection rates. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate uncertainties. Compared to traditional strategy, all precision screening strategies have much lower average costs for detection of one SDA case ($7,148~$11,537 vs. $14,944). In addition, precision strategies 1&2 (strategies 1,2,3,4 described below) achieved higher effectiveness (143~150 vs. 136) and higher protection rates (87.7%~92.0% vs. 83.4%) at lower cost ($1,649,727~$1,672,221 vs. $2,032,386), generating negative ICERs (-$54,666/SDA~-$25,726/SDA) when compared to the traditional strategy. The optimal strategies within different willingness-to-pay (WTP) ranges were all precision screening strategies, and higher model sensitivities were adopted as WTP increased. Precision screening strategy for esophageal cancer based on risk stratification is more cost-effective than use of traditional screening strategy and has practical implications for esophageal cancer screening programs in China.

Can the Locked-In Be Unlocked? University Stratification in China Under State-Led Quest for World-Class Universities

Can the Locked-In Be Unlocked? University Stratification in China Under State-Led Quest for World-Class Universities

Secondary Education and Class Stratification: Understanding the Hierarchy of Sexuality Education in a Chinese Vocational High School.

The discussion of sexuality education has a long history in China since the onset of modernisation in the early 20th century. Sexuality education has also existed in China’s educational system for a long time but in various forms. However, the discussions regarding students’ experiences and the influence of social stratification in China’s particular social context are still limited. From March to September 2019, the author visited an academic high school (pugao) and a vocational high school (zhigao) in Tianjin, China, to gain first-hand data to understand young people’s sexuality education experiences. In this paper, the author specifically paid attention to China’s social class, a rarely discussed topic in China’s society. She also tried to listen to the voices of young people and schoolteachers and help them to be heard. By presenting the insights from schoolteachers, students, as well as the materials from a nationally approved textbook, the author conducted a thematic analysis about how social class influences young people’s sexuality education experiences in secondary education in China.

Private supplementary education and Chinese adolescents' development: The moderating effects of family socioeconomic status.

Using the data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), this study estimated the effects of two types of private supplementary education, namely, cram school and hobby class, on the development of Chinese junior high school students and the moderating effects of family socioeconomic status (SES). First, we found that cram schools and hobby classes both positively correlate with some dimensions of adolescents' development while negatively correlating with others. Attending cram schools is positively associated with students' academic achievement but negatively related to their noncognitive skills. Participating in hobby classes is positively associated with noncognitive abilities but negatively related to cognitive abilities. Second, the negative correlations between cram schools and noncognitive abilities and between hobby classes and cognitive abilities are stronger for low-SES students than their affluent counterparts. The current study's findings shed new light on the role of private supplementary education in educational inequality and social stratification in China.

Competing for privilege –aspirational youth at a Chinese high school entrepreneurship competition

The recent expansion of the overseas education market in China has led to the rise of “Background Promotion Projects” designed to strengthen the applications of elite university aspirants. Based on ethnographic findings of a particular Background Promotion Project, a Chinese high school entrepreneurship competition, this study analyses how international applicants to elite Western universities learn “the art of aspiration” by constructing and performing entrepreneurial subjectivities. Building a link between Arjun Appadurai’s concept of “the capacity to aspire” and Elizabeth Currid-Halkett’s theory of “the aspirational class”, this study reveals how deepening social stratification in China and the rise of a global meritocracy reinforce each other. Demonstrating how privilege is consolidated and justified through the (re)production of aspirations, this study further contributes to the theorisation of class reproduction and education during a time of post-industrial change and international mobility.

Occupational attainment and stratification in China: The interactive effects of social networks and the hukou system

AbstractThis paper examines the effects of social networks and hukou status on worker’s occupational attainment in China. To identify the potential ranking of different occupations, we consider the use of the stereotype ordered regression model to estimate individual occupational choice. Our results show that social networks play different roles in shaping occupational outcomes for urban and rural workers. In particular, friendship ties significantly improve urban workers’ opportunities in obtaining higher‐ranked occupations; in contrast, kinship ties appear to be more influential for rural migrants, but the effects are limited to the attainment of lower‐ranked occupations. While social contacts from government organizations or state‐owned sectors facilitate urban workers’ attainment of higher‐ranked occupations, similar patterns are not observed among rural workers. We further find that the beneficial effects of social networks or urban hukou identity are stronger for workers who are from less‐developed regions, who work in state‐owned enterprises, or who have a college degree. Decomposition of the wage gap between urban and rural workers suggests that differences in social networks and occupation types, together with hukou discrimination, account for the majority of the current wage inequality.

Social stratification and housing wealth inequality in transitional urban China

ABSTRACT As the Chinese economy continues to transform, housing wealth has gradually become the single largest asset in most urban households. At the same time, housing wealth inequality has worsened, and housing stratification has become a major form of social stratification in the country. However, there is no empirical evidence of temporal changes in housing wealth inequality and their implications on social stratification. Pooling three waves of survey data from the 1995, 2008, and 2013 iterations of the Chinese Household Income Project, we present a dynamic image of housing wealth inequality in urban China. The results suggest that housing wealth inequality decreased initially and increased later. To further illustrate how housing wealth is stratified by social groups, we conducted regression analyses and structural tests, which revealed three main results: the education level of the household head has an increasingly positive impact on housing wealth inequality; a household head with superior occupational status generally has an advantage in terms of possession of housing wealth with no evidence that this advantage diminishes during the transitional period; and income has a significant, positive impact on housing wealth, and this effect exhibited an increasing trend over time. These results imply that the temporal changes in housing wealth inequality exacerbated the social stratification in transitional urban China. Highlights This study explores the temporal changes of housing wealth inequality in urban China. Housing inequality decreased and then increased during the transitional period. Both education and income have increasingly positive impacts on the housing inequality. The advantages of the superior occupational status haven’t diminished. These temporal changes exacerbated the social stratification in China.

The Economic Returns of Social Capital: Comparing Han Chinese and Ethnic Minorities in China

This paper investigates and compares the effect of social capital on the earnings of Han Chinese and ethnic minorities in China. Previous studies have primarily focused on education differentials as the key determinant of Chinese ethnic income inequality. The notion that social capital helps improve labour market engagement and performance has long been prevalent in the literature, however, it has rarely been examined within the Chinese ethnic context. Using a nationally representative dataset, the main findings of this study suggest that social capital only exerts a positive effect on the income of Han Chinese, while it fails to generate economic returns for ethnic minorities. This finding is robust when the reserved causality between social capital and income is accounted for by using an instrumental variable estimation. Educational level and Mandarin fluency both positively influence the income of Han and ethnic minorities, but the effect of education is attenuated when one’s social capital is stronger. This study has important implications for Chinese policymakers seeking to address income inequality and ethnic stratification in China.

Geographic inequality and ethnic stratification in China, 2000 to 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to extend current knowledge by focusing on three geographic factors (minority-Han residential segregation, rural-urban disparities and regional differences) and their effects on educational and occupational outcomes of Chinese ethnic minorities from 2000 to 2010.Design/methodology/approachData from the 2000 and 2010 Chinese decennial censuses were used, and both descriptive and multivariate analyses were conducted.FindingsResults revel that there were regional differences in terms of educational segregation between minorities and the Han. It was also difficult for minority groups that were residentially segregated from the Han and mainly located in rural areas or western/southeastern regions to obtain high-level education. When minority groups were residentially segregated from the Han, they tended to have higher levels of occupational segregation from the Han; while minority groups with larger percentages of rural residents tended to have smaller percentages of people obtained high-status occupations. Despite China’s rapid social and economic development, ethnic disparities in education did not significantly change, and ethnic gaps in occupational attainment were widened from 2000 to 2010.Social implicationsGeographic sources of ethnic conflicts in China should not be overlooked, and future researchers should also conduct studies on Chinese ethnic minorities at individual or household level.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature in two major ways: first, all Chinese minority groups were included in the analyses to clarify intra-ethnic differences; second, data from two Chinese decennial censuses and longitudinal statistical modeling were used to investigate the effect of time on ethnic stratification.

Inequality and Social Stratification in Postsocialist China

This article reviews research on inequality and social stratification in China since the mid-1990s. Going beyond the theoretical framework of the market transition debate, research in the field has been advanced by paying more attention to the roles of the institutions of Chinese state socialism, such as the household registration ( hukou) and urban work unit ( danwei) systems, and workers’ self-selective mobility. Empirical studies have benefited from the systematic collection of well-designed and high-quality survey data and from the application of advanced statistical methods. Substantive analysis has been extended to new themes related to social class, gender, ethnicity, education, and housing wealth. This review concludes by seeking to identify the wider implications of empirical findings from China for comparative research on inequality and social stratification and by providing some suggestions for the future direction of the field.

Central-local relations and higher education stratification in China

Regional higher education growth in non-federal states has not attracted much academic attention. This paper is one of the first attempts to explore China’s latest higher education expansion and its systematic and regional impact from the perspective of multi-level governance. This article argues that the state had explicitly utilized the Commanding Heights Strategy to diffuse the higher education authority to sub-national level and promote regional growth. The Central authorities allowed the Ministry of Education establishing a vertical elite coalition to command the heights of tertiary institutional hierarchy and key resources for tertiary development. In addition, the state used both financial incentives and sectoral incentives to mobilize resources for regional expansion. The Commanding Heights Strategy shapes China’s response to the higher education trilemma of costs, access, and quality. Under this strategy, the unprecedented tertiary expansion has expanded college access, but at the expense of affordability, quality, and a large and increasing regional variation.

Stratification in China’s Education

A large body of research has shown growing class inequalities in educational attainment in post-Mao China. The more advantaged families have benefited more from educational expansion and development. This article argues that class inequalities in education are unlikely to decline under the Xi Jinping leadership. While Xi makes frequent references to Maoist ideas and concepts, he is also pushing for the “innovation-driven development” strategy, which will continue to stratify China’s educational system in favour of elite schools and universities. At the policy level, there will be initiatives seeking to reduce educational inequality. However, there will not be an overhaul as radical as in the Mao era.

No Spouse, No Son, No Daughter, No Kin in Contemporary China: Prevalence, Correlates, and Differences in Economic Support.

China's recent demographic and social changes might undermine the sustainability of its family-oriented system for elder care. We investigate kin availability among adults aged 45+ in contemporary China, with an emphasis on child gender. Using nationally representative survey data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011), we examine the prevalence and correlates of lacking different kin types and combinations, and we test associations between kin availability and received economic support. Kinlessness is low in China (less than 2% lack a spouse/partner and children), but kin availability is patterned by gender, age group, and sociodemographic characteristics. More than twice as many older adults have no spouse/partner and no daughter (3.2%) as those who have no spouse/partner and no son (1.4%). Adults without close kin are disadvantaged across health, wealth, and economic support. In contrast to traditional expectations, we find that those with only daughters are more similar to those with mixed sex children, whereas those with only sons are more similar to those without children in receipt of economic support. Access to kin forms the basis of an emergent system of stratification in China, which will be amplified as cohorts with only one child age into older adulthood.