Creating Wealth and Poverty in Postsocialist China [Hardcover]

The Chinese economy's return to commodification and privatization has greatly diversified China's institutional landscape. With the migration of more than 140 million villagers to cities and rapid urbanization of rural settlements, it is no longer possible to presume that the nation can be divided into strictly urban or rural classifications.Creating Wealth and Poverty in Postsocialist Chinadraws on a wide variety of recent national surveys and detailed case studies to capture the diversity of postsocialist China and identify the contradictory dynamics forging contemporary social stratification. Focusing on economic inequality, social stratification, power relations, and everyday life chances, the volume provides an overview of postsocialist class order and contributes to current debates over the forces driving global inequalities. This book will be a must read for those interested in social inequality, stratification, class formation, postsocialist transformations, and China and Asian studies. A group of prominent scholars use fresh survey data and in-depth ethnographic analysis and examine a broad range of issues relating to economic and social changes in contemporary China. This timely volume contains some unexpected and fascinating findings which provide new perspectives for understanding a rapidly evolving society. The [book] is of high quality. Addressing key issues in debates related to market transition in China, this comprehensive, unique collection will no doubt have audiences in many disciplines. It is the only recent volume of its kind, and the caliber of the contributors guarantees visibility. This book's contribution ... is the detailed depiction of the mechanisms that affect Chinese society as it undergoes a rapid transformation in the post colonial period. Despite some flaws, this is the most comprehensive and insightful books in recent years to address the issue of social inequality in globalizing China. Presents an up-to-date look at the l“+