1st Edition

Politics of Economic Inequality in China Unbalanced Responsiveness

By Shuai Jin Copyright 2024
216 Pages 17 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

216 Pages 17 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

216 Pages 17 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book applies a novel theory of ‘unbalanced responsiveness’ to the issue of economic inequality in China to better understand the relationship between authoritarian regimes and their citizens. The book highlights how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has responded to dissatisfaction over inequality, with both propaganda and policy, revealing how the responsiveness in these two arenas is... Read more

1. Introduction  2. A Theory of Unbalanced Responsiveness  3. The Universal but Stratified Pension System  4. Media Coverage, Saliency of Inequality and Class Conflicts  5. Moral Judgments of Economic Inequality  6. Perceptions of Social Welfare  7. Preferences for Redistribution  8. Conclusion: Unbalanced Responsiveness

Biography

Shuai Jin is an assistant professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston, USA. Her research interests include economic inequality, propaganda, and public opinion in China. Her work has appeared in The China Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, Political Analysis, The China Review, and Chinese Sociological Review.

"Jin has developed a theory of unbalanced responsiveness to explain economic inequality and redistribution in China. This thought-provoking book sheds new light on the inner workings of the political economy of the world’s largest authoritarian country in a creative and methodologically-rigorous way."

Kevin J. O’Brien, Jack M. Forcey Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley, USA

"Jin’s book uses innovative survey data to show how economic inequality in China exacerbates social conflicts. Her analyses of attitudes and leaders’ rhetoric about pension, welfare, and poverty reduction programs demonstrates that these issues are highly salient for Chinese people."

Sara McLaughlin Mitchell, F. Wendell Miller Professor, University of Iowa, USA