Download This PaperMaking it in China: The Determinants of Economic Success in a Socialist Market System
Ion Marandici, “Making it in China: The Determinants of Economic Success in a Socialist Market System” in Peter Duncan and Elisabeth Schimpfössl (eds), Socialism, Capitalism and Alternatives: Area Studies and Global Theories, London, UK: UCL Press, 2019.
19 Pages Posted: 30 Apr 2020
Date Written: May 6, 2019
Abstract
China’s politicians emphasize that they are building a Socialist market economy (社会主义市场经济) based on the ideology of Socialism with Chinese characteristics (中国特别社会主义). Unlike other post-communist transitions to capitalism, China’s radical economic transformations, during the neoliberal era, did not generate a large pool of economic losers. On the contrary, over the last three decades, four hundred million Chinese escaped poverty. Yet, at the same time, this impressive economic growth has been associated with the rise of a wealthy elite, which gradually is being coopted by the party-state. Relying on survey data, this study goes beyond socio-demographic characteristics and investigates whether party membership, education, beliefs in upward mobility and support for an interventionist state correlate with higher income levels. The final section situates the observed trends in the context of the Chinese Dream initiative (中国梦).
Keywords: China, political economy, wealthy elite, Socialism
JEL Classification: P52, P48, B24, B51, P30, P26
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