1st Edition

Ethnicity and Inequality in China

Edited By Björn A. Gustafsson, Reza Hasmath, Sai Ding Copyright 2021
    356 Pages 37 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    356 Pages 37 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    This book analyses the behaviour of ethnic minority groups in China using the first comprehensive national dataset dedicated to capturing the socio-economic profile of ethnic minorities: the China Household Ethnicity Survey (CHES).

    Managing ethnic diversity in China has become an increasingly important subject, especially against the backdrop of the nation’s rampant economic growth and changing institutional behaviour. The book has an analytical interest in looking at the benefactors of China’s growth from an ethnic group dimension, and notably, how the economic life of the 55 ethnic minority groups compares to the Han majority. It’s one of the first publications to capture the heterogeneity of ethnic minority groups’ socio-economic experience, through intersectional analysis and multi-disciplinary approaches. Contributing factors in explaining ethnic minorities’ experiences in the urban labour market are also considered: from how linguistic capital and migration patterns vary for ethnic minorities, to the effects of pro-rural policies. Underpinning these are questions about the extent to which happiness and discrimination impact the economic life of ethnic minorities.

    Ethnicity and Inequality in China will prove an invaluable resource for students and scholars of economics, sociology and contemporary Chinese Studies more broadly.

    1 Ethnicity and inequality in China: An introduction 1

    BJÖRN A. GUSTAFSSON, REZA HASMATH AND SAI DING

    2 Ethnic income gaps in seven rural regions of China 25

    BJÖRN A. GUSTAFSSON AND SAI DING

    3 Linguistic capital: Links to information access and economic opportunity among rural young adults in minority areas in China 61

    EMILY HANNUM AND HUA-YU SEBASTIAN CHERNG

    4 Ethnic minority group differences in the transitions from work to “retirement” of western China’s rural elders 82

    RACHEL CONNELLY AND MARGARET MAURER-FAZIO

    5 The redistributive impact of pro-rural policies in the western ethnic minority regions of China 110

    HIROSHI SATO AND YANZHONG WANG

    6 Rural public goods provision in the western ethnic minority regions of China 134

    KEQIANG LI AND HIROSHI SATO

    7 Minorities in rural China: Poorer but inherently happier? 161

    JOHN KNIGHT, LI SHI AND YUAN CHANG

    8 Labor market outcomes of ethnic minorities in urban China 185

    SYLVIE DÉMURGER

    9 Discrimination in ethnic minority earnings? evidence from urban China 216

    ANDREW MACDONALD AND REZA HASMATH

    10 Determinants of Han-minority urban income inequality 233

    SAMUEL L. MYERS, JR., KEQIANG LI, YUANCHENG LI, GREGORY N. PRICE AND MAN XU

    11 Investigating the patterns and determinants of Han and ethnic minority household migration in China 259

    ANTHONY HOWELL, SAI DING AND BJÖRN A. GUSTAFSSON

    12 Poverty among Han and ethnic minorities in seven regions of China 283

    BJÖRN A. GUSTAFSSON, SAI DING AND HIROSHI SATO

    Methodological considerations: Overview of Chinese Household Ethnicity Survey 2011 316

    Biography

    Björn A. Gustafsson is a Senior Professor at the Department of Social Work, University of Gothenburg.

    Reza Hasmath is a Full Professor in Political Science at the University of Alberta.

    Sai Ding is Professor at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

    "This is a theoretically informed and empirically grounded research into a wide range of issues on ethnicity and inequality in China. The contributors, who are established scholars and emerging young research stars in the field, turn a reflective and critical eye on changes and challenges in ethnic policies and practices in China. A gift to teachers, researchers, policy analysts, and students interested in ethnicity in China." - Professor Xiaowei Zang, City University of Hong Kong