Title:	The Demographic Masculinization of China
Authors:	Attane, Isabelle Translation Madeleine Grieve, Krystyna Horko Copy editing Catriona Dutreuilh
Keywords:	Demographic
Issue Date:	2013
Publisher:	Springer
Description:	The second half of the twentieth century was a period of major upheaval in China. The Communist takeover in 1949 brought political and economic transformation aimed at social equality. The subsequent liberal reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping in 1978 completely overhauled the agricultural and industrial production system and brought profound social change. Since then, China has moved gradually from a planned, centralized economy to a “socialist market economy”, a transition that has driven unprecedented economic growth. Gross domestic product has expanded rapidly since the 1980s, while remarkable productivity gains generated by economic reform have resulted in substantial purchasing power gains and a decline in overall poverty. However, by shaking up the whole social organization, the dismantling of collective production structures has wrought changes that extend far beyond the economic sphere. Previously, people depended closely on the state for all aspects of their day- to-day lives. Through their work units, everyone had guaranteed access to employment, housing, healthcare and education for their children. City dwellers were also entitled to pensions and welfare benefi ts. However, since those services have gradually been transferred to the private sector, they now respond to market forces, which means that access to them is increasingly unequal. The healthcare system has deteriorated, access to basic education and employment is no longer guaranteed; and unemployment, job insecurity, poverty and social inequality are spreading. China has thus become one of the most unequal countries in developing Asia. Inequality is now higher in China than in Indonesia, Pakistan and even India. “The inequality [in China] is comparable to the United States, a country that has always emphasized freedom over equality and has never made a secret of its ethos of rewarding work, talent and merit” (Chesnais 2002).
URI:	http://10.6.20.12:80/handle/123456789/52558
ISBN:	978-3-319-00236-1
Appears in Collections:	Population Studies

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