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This paper presents the theoretical rationale and research design of an ongoing study of social structure and personality in transitional urban China. The study is designed to be precisely comparable to recent studies in Poland and Ukraine during the early stages of their transformation from socialism to nascent capitalism, as well as to earlier studies of the United States, Poland when it was socialist, and Japan during more stable times. The paper also presents evidence that the dimensions of personality measured in the previous studies, and the questions used to measure those dimensions, are as appropriate for a study of urban China as they were to studies of the United States, Poland, Japan, and Ukraine, during times both of relative social stability and of radical social change; moreover, these measures of personality are essentially invariant for Chinese cities of differing degrees of wealth and privatization, and for both genders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how the drastic educational reforms during the Communist period changed the effects of family background on education in China, in comparison to other nations. Data are from the Life Histories and Social Change in Contemporary China survey and the World Inequality Study; N=130,109 in 28 societies. Since World War 11, the mean number of years of education in China paralleled, at a lower level, the rises in Eastern European Communist countries and in Western market economies. Multi-level regression analysis shows that China's educational level is not higher than would be predicted on the basis of worldwide patterns linking education to g d p and family background. Overall, the drastic educational reforms of the Communist period do not seem to have raised educational attainments, contrary to the Rousseau/Marx understanding of the primacy of private property as a generator of social inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The educational attainments of Beijing's permanent ethnic minority population out perform or are on par with the dominant, local Hans. Yet, the Han demographic disproportionately dominates the high-wage, education-intensive employment sectors. What accounts for this paradox? What does this signify regarding the management of ethnic difference in the capital city? And how do we improve this situation? Drawing upon recent research, this paper will offer sociological explanations to answer these questions. Moreover, it will further suggest strategies for enhancing the development of ethnic minorities in Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to enrich the literature on East Asian development by focusing on one critical difference between Hong Kong and the other NIEs – Hong Kong's rapid deindustrialization since the mid-1980s. We shall argue that while global restructuring gives rise to upgrading opportunities for various localities, it is the process of capability formation associated with the local business model that determines whether or not a locality is likely to benefit from these opportunities. We focus on the electronics industry as a crucial case and based on archival data and case interviews. We show that a strategic inertia associated with the "subcontractor model" locks Hong Kong firms in the OEM role within the buyer-driven global chain. Analyzing the evolution of local firms clearly illustrates the "imprinting" effect of the start-up environment on internal organizational structure and subsequent strategic choice. We conclude from this restructuring experience that sustainability [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question this article tries to answer is: to what extent can the recent rise of populism outside of the West be attributed to anti-Western sentiment? Interest in populism has focused on Western democracies, with far less attention devoted to regimes in non-Western parts of the world. This article takes three major cases – India, China, and Turkey. The article examines the recent intensification of populism in the three cases, but also shows how populism fits into the longer comparative-historical trajectories of a revolt against Western domination. The conclusion puts populism in a wider perspective: how do these non-Western assertions of populism shed light on debates about alternative paths within modernity and on the nature of populism in Western democracies? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 19th century, China's socioeconomic geography experienced unprecedented spatial changes. Through these spatial transformations, which were caused by the penetration of western capitalism, Chinese cities morphed into epicenters of international trade between Western powers and China. By examining the major transformations having taken place in 19th century Chinese cities, the author investigates unexplained or neglected transformations in three areas: (1) the decline of interdependent inland cities connected by waterways; (2) the simultaneous rise of independent port cities under the influence of the capitalist world-economy; and (3) the forging of port city–hinterland relationships in connection with the capitalist world-economy. It helps to understand the role that port cities have played in the development of China's historical capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marx believed that socialist revolution, i.e., the end of the private ownership of the "means of production", would make the state weak in the long run: the state would "wither away". He also believed that the despotic state is related to Oriental despotism, marked by general ossification. Here Marx followed the views of his contemporaries. The socialist revolutions in Russia and China demonstrate that Marx was wrong: the end of private ownership of the "means of production" creates a state similar to Oriental despotism, but it is a quite dynamic and economically viable regime. The USSR's collapse was due to Gorbachev alone; at the same time, totalitarian socialist China would become an economic and geopolitical global force in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how socioeconomic resources are related to trust in conventional businesses and e-businesses in China. Based on data collected in 2013 from three major cities, the authors found that people who perceived themselves as upper-class were more likely to trust both conventional businesses and e-businesses. Further analysis also suggested that people with self-perceived higher status were more likely to trust conventional businesses than e-businesses. The authors suggest that people with more socioeconomic resources are likely to be able to exchange their socioeconomic resources for other resources. They can command more resources to influence and extend their social network for their own benefit. In addition, those with more socioeconomic resources usually know how to utilize institutional arrangements to their benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The transition from socialism to capitalism involves overcoming tremendous, and unavoidable, difficulties of growth and distribution, and controversial reforms. The case of China presents an important opportunity by inviting us to understand its distinctive experiences from comparative perspectives. While its market-oriented reforms have achieved remarkable growth records, the costs of privatization and liberalization have had to be absorbed by social policy, and redistributed among different social strata and specific units. This study focuses on the reconstruction of state-owned enterprises, the social security system, and industrial relations to show China's unique path toward a market economy. As a Leninist government continues to enjoy ample room for policy manoeuvres and civil organizations are absent in social policy making, the Chinese case of 'great transformation' apparently rests on an unstable ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which investigated how labor disputes have been differentially affected by the interplay of organizational characteristics, institutional structure, work conditions as well as the characteristics of labor force by country origin of East-Asian-owned firms and location of industry in China. Critical issue on labor unrest; Data and methods; Frequency of labor disputes.

Examines the gap in living standards between Russia and China that is closing rapidly as of 2000. Consequences of Communist rule or misrule being endured by both countries; Discussion on the transition to capitalism in a comparative perspective; Conclusions.