Author: Zhou, Xueguang
Title: The State and Life Chances in Urban China : Redistribution and Stratification, 1949-1994
Description: Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2004. orig.boards. 24x15cm, xxiv,375 pp.. Textual graphs & tables.. Minor rubbing. Portion of dustwrapper mounted on spine. VG. ¶ Contents: Redistribution and stratification dynamics under state socialism -- Overview : historical context and research design -- Educational stratification -- Entry into the labor force : patterns of first-job attainment -- Children of the cultural revolution : the send-down episode -- Climbing the political ladder : bureaucratic career patterns -- Economic transformation and changes in income inequality -- Redistribution and latent economic benefits -- Institutional changes and patterns of job shifts -- Economic transformation and life chances : a life-course perspective -- Social stratification under state socialism : summary and assessment -- Stratification dynamics and institutional transformation [" This book presents a systematic study of social stratification processes in urban China, from 1949 to 1994. Based on the life histories of a sample of urban residents from 20 Chinese cities, this book addresses two themes: (1) the interplay between redistribution and social stratification under state socialism in urban china, especially the impact of the state and state policies on individual life chances, in such areas as education, labor force participation, promotion in organizations, and the distribution of manifest and latent economic benefits; (2) an assessment of sources and extent of China's economic transformation since the 1980s. The author blends sociological analysis and sensitivity to the historical context in interpreting changes and continuity in the 45-year history of state socialist China. This is the most comprehensive and rigorous study

Keywords: Chinese Urban Sociology, Communist China, Social Strata, Stratification, Economic Policy, Economy Economics, Political History, Politics, Communism