This book is a sociological study of how economic reforms, started in the late 1970s, have affected people's life in China. The book is based upon the author's recent research projects conducted in mainland China. The unique feature of the book is not only based upon qualitative analysis but also quantitative data, the integration of which can enhance readers' understanding of current social and political developments in post-Mao China. In particular, the book aims to depict a context and sociological framework for the analysis of the dynamic and interactive processes between economic, social and political fronts.

China's post-Mao economic reform continues to be carried out under the leadership of those committed to the philosophy of Deng Xiao Ping for building a modernized China. The main feature of the reform is to change a planned economy to a market economy -- the primary difference being the degree to which economic power is concentrated or decentralized. In other words, the success of changing from a planned to a market economy depends on transferring power from the central government to industrial enterprises.Yet China's economic system has three levels: the central government, the intermediate local governments, and the industrial enterprises. Scholars disagree over whether the central government's power is transferring to the intermediate local government level or to the enterprises as the reform intended. The major consideration in this book is to test whether economic decision-making power was transferred to industrial enterprises after 1978 as most Chinese scholars believe, or whether local governments instead gained some or all of the decision-making power as generally claimed by Western scholars.

The transition from a planned to a market economy that began in China in the late 1970s unleashed an extraordinary series of changes, including increases in private enterprise, foreign investment, the standard of living, and corruption. Another result of economic reform has been the creation of a new class—China's new business elite. Margaret M. Pearson considers the impact that this new class is having on China's politics. She concludes that, contrary to the assumptions of Westerners, these groups are not at the forefront of the emergence of a civil society; rather, they are part of a system shaped deliberately by the Chinese state to ensure that economic development will not lead to democratization. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1997. The transition from a planned to a market economy that began in China in the late 1970s unleashed an extraordinary series of changes, including increases in private enterprise, foreign investment, the standard of living, and corruption. Another result of

Analyzes the political origins and impact of the post-Mao programme of market-orientated reform in China focusing on key areas of policy, institutions and social dynamics. White argues that the Deng reforms have radically changed the nature of Chinese society and is leading to political pluralism.

Institutional changes in rural China caused by the economic reforms of the post-Mao era have led to a new pattern of state-society interaction in the rural polity. Central to this is the spectacular rise of a group of managerial elites. Contrary to economic predictors, this has been accompanied by the development of an interdependence between these managers and the state. This book provides an analysis of the new state-society relationship and demonstrates the complexity and fluidity involved in institutional development and market transformation.

Analysing post-Mao China is not an easy task, but it is essential in order to understand the rationale and scope of the reform process started by the Chinese leadership under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping at the end of the 1970s. Thirty years after the beginning of the reform process China has become a major actor in the global economic and political system and the 21st century is generally held to the one in which China will become the major world power. In this book Paolo Urio presents a balanced picture of the reform process, analysing the economic, social, environmental, legal, political and cultural aspects of the process and showing the interconnections between them. As well as analysing the achievements realised thus far by the reform process, this book looks ahead at the difficulties the Chinese leadership will have to face in the years to come. As such, it will be essential reading for students and scholars of Chinese politics, public management and economics alike.