This book draws attention to two neglected areas in the growing body of research on welfare in China: subnational variation and the changing mix of state and non-state provision. The contributors to this volume demonstrate the diversity of local welfare provision that lies behind broad national policies and programmes. Their focus on local diversity is particularly relevant to understanding the welfare system in China because national state programmes are so often organized by local governments in line with the specifics of their economic and social development. At the same time that social and economic development is itself independently creating an array of different conditions that shape non-state (family, business and third sector) welfare roles . Through chapters that draw on original research in eight provinces, the book adopts a ‘local’ perspective to illustrate and explain some of the transformations that are under way and discuss not only local government initiatives and programmes, but also the services and support provided by families, informal social networks and community or third sector organizations, as well as those delivered by private businesses on a commercial, for-profit basis. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Chinese society, social policy, and Chinese studies more widely. Beatriz Carrillo is Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia Jane Duckett is Professor of Chinese and Comparative Politics at the University of Glasgow, UK

East Asia is at the heart of the global economic transformation, and the countries of the region are witnessing rapidly changing labour markets, alongside the pressure to cut production costs and lower taxes in order to become successful ‘competition states’. These changes have resulted in increased welfare demands which governments, organizations and agencies across the region have had to address. This book examines welfare regimes in the Greater China region, encompassing mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. In so doing, it explores the ways in which the rapid growth and internationalisation of the economy across Greater China is presenting new social policy challenges that governments, social welfare organizations and agencies in the region are having to respond to. Rather than simply describing and categorising welfare systems, the contributors to this volume add to our understanding of how one of the major economic transformations of the contemporary era in East Asia is shaping welfare provision in the region. In turn, in this context of economic change, they examine the new strategies and measures that have been adopted in order to reduce the heavy burden on the state in terms of welfare provision, whilst also attempting to diversify funding and provision sources to meet the pressing welfare needs. Based upon extensive fieldwork by leading scholars of social policy, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Asian social policy, comparative development and social policy, social welfare and Chinese studies.

This book critically and comprehensively examines China’s welfare development amidst its rapid economic growth and increasing social tensions. It covers the main policy areas from China’s inception of the open door policy in 1978 to the new administration of Jinping Xi and Keqiang Li, including social security, health, education, housing, employment, rural areas, migrant workers, children and young people, disabled people, old age pensions and non-governmental organisations. In particular, it critically analyses the impact of policy changes on the well-being of Chinese people

Scholars of political economy and international economics as well as academics and researchers of Asian - particularly Chinese- studies, will find this book of great value. Since the People's Republic of China began to promote an open-door policy to foreign investment in 1979, economic results have been startling. In twenty years China recorded at least eight percent growth in gross domestic product annually. Since 1978 the number of Chinese living in poverty dropped from 270 million to 60 million. China's economy cou. By adopting a wide-ranging perspective, this book addresses the key issues relevant to contemporary China, providing a valuable tool with which to understand the challenges and opportunities facing political and economic actors, both domestic and foreign, over the next decades. The book addresses key issues now subject to considerable debate, such as sustainable growth, the imbalances in society deriving from growing inequalities and environmental threats. Concluding this section is an overview of how Chinese - US relations, and China's geo-political role at the international level, have evolved at the turn of the 21st century. The book then goes on to analyse those issues linked to the impacts of recent welfare system reforms. In particular, those impacts on the health care and pension systems, growing unemployment deriving from reform of state-owned enterprises and the related phasing out of the 'cradle-to-grave' welfare system. The closing chapter looks at the potential provided by a fast-growing insurance market in conjunction with WTO opening measures, to assess whether increased opportunities are likely to arise for foreign insurance suppliers.

In the past few decades, the change in China’s welfare system has been characterised by a balanced distribution of benefits across social sectors and the institutionalization of welfare redistribution. This process has occurred without significant political change that would empower politically disadvantaged groups such as the urban and rural poor. This book questions what has motivated the regime to redistribute welfare benefits through an institutionalized manner whilst its political structure remains largely unchanged. By situating China within the broader context of East Asia and against the backdrop of globalization since the 1980s, this book examines the institutional origin and development of China’s new welfare system. Through doing this, it provides an understanding of the nature of the Chinese state in dealing with its economy and society in a context of global economic integration. A global-local dynamics framework highlights the importance of the interactive relationship between China’s integration into the world economy and its unique geopolitical constraints, which together induce the regime to listen to its subjects and follow a "move to the middle" in welfare restructuring. Offering a novel explanation of the welfare-globalization relations in a non-democratic setting, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Social Policy, International Political Economy and Chinese Politics.

This much-needed new textbook introduces readers to the development of China's welfare polices since its conception of an open-door policy in 1978. Setting out basic concepts and issues, including key terms and the process of policy making, it overcomes a major barrier to understanding Chinese social policy. The book explores in detail the five key policy areas of employment, social security, health, education and housing. Each is examined using a human well-being framework comprising both qualitative and quantitative data and eight dimensions: physical and psychological well-being, social integration, fulfilment of caring duties, human learning and development, self-determination, equal value and just polity. This enables the authors to provide not only factual information on policies but also an in-depth understanding of the impact of welfare changes on the quality of life of Chinese people over the past three decades. A major strength of the book lies in its use of primary Chinese language sources, including relevant White Papers, central and local government policy documents, academic research studies and newspapers for each policy area. There are very few books in English on social policy in China, and this book will be welcomed both by academics and students of China and East Asian studies and comparative social policy and by those who want to know more about China's social development.