Building healthy cities: the experience and challenges faced by China

Cities are crucial for China’s economic development. Further urbanisation is one of the key elements of post-central planning reform and is seen as the solution to rural poverty. However, as people concentrate in cities, they face various health challenges. These concern not only the provision of good health care services but also the prevention of disease, improving the quality of living environments and maintaining a healthy lifestyle

Urban Social Exclusion in Transitional China

This paper demonstrates that urban social exclusion in China does not only include restricted participation by the ¿underclass¿ in urban life, but also the deprivation of certain political, social and economic rights. In addition, the paper describes how the character of urban social exclusion has changed over time. The author also examines the social exclusion of rural workers living and working in urban areas. The paper concludes by arguing that urban social exclusion in China needs coordinated reforms that target the whole set of problems in the urban ¿underclass¿ lacking political rights, social protection and economic opportunities.social exclusion, urban China, rural to urban migrants

The social protection of rural workers in the construction industry in urban China

The construction industry is important for Chinese rural to urban migrants. Over 90% of urban construction workers are rural migrants, and over a third of all rural migrants work in construction. The construction industry is not only particularly important, but is also different from other industries in its pay and labour recruitment practices. In common with other rural workers, construction workers have long suffered from various problems, including delayed payment of salaries and exclusion from urban social security schemes. State policies designed to deal with these problems have in general had mixed success. Partly as a result of the peculiarities of the construction industry, state policy has been particularly unsuccessful in dealing with the problems faced by construction workers. This paper considers both the risks rural workers in the construction industry face because of the work they do and the risks they face and because of their being rural workers. It shows that social protection needs to take into account both the work related risks and status related risks. The authors first review the literature concerning work related risks, and then build up a framework to analyse the risks embedded in their work and status, and the relationship between these risks and the existing formal social protection. Thirty one in depth interviews with construction workers, carried out in Tianjin, PRC, are used to demonstrate both the risks and the inability of the state-led social policy to tackle these risks. The results suggest that rural construction workers in cities were exposed to all sorts of problems from not being paid for their work in time to miserable living conditions, from having to pay for their own healthcare to no savings for old age. This paper highlights the problems of policy prescriptions that failed to recognise the complexity of the problems faced by these workers and criticises the tendency to seek quick fixes rather than long-term and careful institutional design

The Social Protection of Rural Workers in the Construction Industry in Urban China

The construction industry is important for Chinese rural to urban migrants. Over 90% of urban construction workers are rural migrants, and over a third of all rural migrants work in construction. The construction industry is not only particularly important, but is also different from other industries in its pay and labour recruitment practices. In common with other rural workers, construction workers have long suffered from various problems, including delayed payment of salaries and exclusion from urban social security schemes. State policies designed to deal with these problems have in general had mixed success. Partly as a result of the peculiarities of the construction industry, state policy has been particularly unsuccessful in dealing with the problems faced by construction workers. This paper considers both the risks rural workers in the construction industry face because of the work they do and the risks they face and because of their being rural workers. It shows that social protection needs to take into account both the work related risks and status related risks. The authors first review the literature concerning work related risks, and then build up a framework to analyse the risks embedded in their work and status, and the relationship between these risks and the existing formal social protection. Thirty one in depth interviews with construction workers, carried out in Tianjin, PRC, are used to demonstrate both the risks and the inability of the state-led social policy to tackle these risks. The results suggest that rural construction workers in cities were exposed to all sorts of problems from not being paid for their work in time to miserable living conditions, from having to pay for their own healthcare to no savings for old age. This paper highlights the problems of policy prescriptions that failed to recognise the complexity of the problems faced by these workers and criticises the tendency to seek quick fixes rather than long-term and careful institutional design.social security, rural-urban migrants, construction workers, industrial organisation, social exclusion, People’s Republic of China, work related risks

Poverty and Inequality and Social Policy in China

Despite prolonged economic growth, poverty has become a more notable and noted feature of Chinese society. The paper examines three phases of development since the foundation of the People's Republic: the central planning era (1949 -1978); the pro-urban growth model (1978 - 1999); and more recent changes (1999 - 2004). For each phase the nature of the economic and social policies are described and the effects on poverty and inequality are examined. The limitations of a social policy that is subservient to the economic strategy are considered. The alternative of a model of social development based on the livelihood approach is analysed and its potential to reduce poverty and inequality are considered.poverty, inequality, social policy, China, livelihoods, social development

Social welfare and protection for economic growth and social stability — China’s experience

China’s Communist Party has directed the country’s welfare system to maintain party authority amidst changing political, social, and economic circumstances. Welfare during the years of central planning was comprehensively provided either directly by the state or through co-operatives with a clear rural-urban divide. Following the death of Mao Zedong, the Chinese economy was liberalised and capitalists began to be accepted as members of the Party. From the late 1970s until the early 2000s, welfare provisions from state and business enterprises gradually declined even as individuals began bearing ever-growing personal responsibility in social assistance. While welfare policy had, until the early 2000s, been used to increase economic efficiency, the many social problems that attended the Chinese model of development soon led Beijing to target welfare policy directly at social well-being. Consequently, more recent policy has sought to spread the benefits of economic growth more equitably

Inequality in China: a case study

Over the past 30 years, China has substantially reduced the number of people living in absolute poverty. Moreover, during the past 10 years, the country has gradually introduced social protection measures that target the poor and aim to prevent those who have already escaped poverty from dropping below the poverty line in the future. However, over time rising inequalities in multiple forms have increasingly become a threat to social harmony, the prospect of further growth, and the well-being of future generations. As China embarks on another period of reform, it must narrow the gap in income and wealth to pave the way for sustainable economic growth and social development. This can only be done by addressing the root causes of inequality in opportunity and outcomes, such as market distortions, abuse of public resources or power, and unequal access to good-quality public services. The first section of the Report examines the Chinese approach to development over the past 30 years, at the beginning of which absolute poverty was very common. This report argues that both the results and the means of poverty alleviation in China are significant. The second section summarises the emerging issue of various inequalities in China, which include inequality in income, household expenditures, wealth and human capital, also by region and gender. The following two sections examine the impacts of various inequalities on the well-being of children, and the root causes of inequalities respectively. Whilst absolute poverty is still a big issue in China, particularly in remote areas, addressing inequality has gradually become a more important item on the national development agenda. China has made some progress in tackling the immediate causes for rising inequality. In the final section, this report suggests that China should expand the development strategy by addressing the root causes of unequal opportunity as well as unequal outcomes.This report was commisioned by Save the children ChinaCopyright Information: 2014 Save the Children Internationa

An Examination of the Development of Online Higher Education in Canada and China: Keeping Pace and Making Space

This study examined the similarities and differences that currently exist between Chinese and Canadian online higher education, and explored the economic, political, and sociocultural environments that have shaped online education in these two jurisdictions. Furthermore, this paper discussed the efficacy of, and potential for, future development of online learning in higher education in both Canada and China. The research employed a collective case study design to gather information and data on the development of online higher education. The analysis on Contact North in Canada and the One-Man University in China provide a comparative perspective on the development of 2 typical online higher educational institutions in these two countries. The study revealed that the development of online higher education is influenced by the economic, political, and sociocultural factors of environment. Contact North and the One-Man University share similarities in many aspects, but are characteristically different. The Contact North can set an example for establishing and operating a self-regulated MOOCs platform. The study also generated implications for both organizations

The Digital Silk Road and the Sustainable Development Goals

The information and communications technology (ICT) sector has attracted growing interest among stakeholders in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Chinese investors. A Digital Silk Road initiative within the BRI is growing, as countries are encouraged to work together on production and trade enabled by digital technologies. Digital connectivity and the emerging digital economy can have positive impacts on development, as has been demonstrated in some Chinese cities. However, it is difficult to tell whether the Chinese experience will be transferable. This article reviews what China has done in relation to the Digital Silk Road and the possible contributions made towards delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in investee countries. We conclude that while ICT investment has the transformative power to benefit the world’s poorest, its benefits should not be overestimated. Enhancing activities in the virtual world need to be matched with those in the real world to deliver sustainable outcomes.Center for International Knowledge on Development’s (CIKD) China–UK Partnership Programme on Knowledge for Development

Intergenerational Housing Support Between Retired Old Parents and their Children in Urban China

Intergenerational support between parents and children in Chinese cities has been dramatically affected by recent social changes. This paper investigates the changing pattern of intergenerational housing support between retired old parents and their chil