Social inequalities in China’s urban areas By Matthew Gleeson and Henry Sadler-Dawe

Main Groups Migrants  Struggle to find good jobs in cities – often their jobs don’t give them employed status so they miss out on many health benefits.  Poor living conditions Unskilled workers  Less demand since companies have industrialised  Struggle to find work  Often live in crowded areas  Industrial protests at working conditions and pay etc.

Main Groups Skilled workers  High demand in new high tech businesses  Highly paid in comparison to some  Many are able to afford decent housing that migrants and unskilled workers cannot Business owners  ‘New Rich’ of China, benefitted most from the huge amounts of FDI  Often bribe authorities allowing them to work around certain rules. E.g. pay bribes to ensure their children get into the best schools.

Employment inequalities Rapid urban development in China is the last 30 years has led to a rise in the service industry and high tech sectors. Brings disproportionate rewards to the most highly skilled workers. State of living is poor for unskilled workers (‘bang bang’ men in Chongqing – 20 workers to a house ) Decline in SOEs led to large lay offs – large amounts of unemployed workers as there is now a limited number of well paid skilled jobs available.

Chongqing Set in the middle reaches of the Yangtze 0.5 net migrant income to the city each year. ‘bang bang’ men  £1.50 for 12 hours work  Cramped apartments – poor living areas  ‘Education and health care – free in the days of Mao – are now the biggest burden on peasants.  Forced away from their homes in the countryside to get more money, leaving family behind and sending money back. Violent industrial protests For the rich, they spend more on a might’s entertainment than a ‘bang bang’ man earns in a good month. Migrant children cannot afford to go to school, many end up working to get as much money for the family as possible.

Social benefits Unemployment often means exclusion from social services such as education, health, retirement benefits and social security. 67% of migrant children pay higher school fees than permanent locals. State paid 66% of all healthcare cost in 1988 Down to 22% in Proportion of expenditures related to both education and health has more than doubled in the bottom 20% of registered households in this time In 2006, 22 million urban residents were in poverty, accounted for 4.1% of urban population this was only 3.6% in 1993.