China has made remarkable yet uneven progress in social development. This book analyses China's achievements and problems in social development from the perspective of social investment. Social investment has gained popularity in Europe as a new social policy paradigm. It seeks to use government budget more efficiently and effectively by investing in people rather than "social consumption".
This book focuses on a few policy areas central to social investment and capacity building, including education, technical training, R&D, and the hukou reform. It also analyses challenges and limitations of China's social investment policies. It sheds light on the most notable feature of China's social investment regime, which is the concentration of resources, privileges, and policy support on sectors and institutions with more growth potential. This helps to explain why China's progress in social development is remarkable but unequal.
Sample Chapter(s)
Chapter 1: Introduction (539 KB)
Contents:
- Introduction
- Development-Oriented Social Investment
- Basic Education
- Vocational Education
- Higher Education
- Science and Technology
- Talent Schemes
- Hukou and Migration
- Social Investment in China
Readership: Policymakers, academics, professionals, undergraduates and graduate students interested in China's social development, social investment, social policies and social issues.
Zhao Litao is Senior Research Fellow at the East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore. He obtained his PhD degree in sociology from Stanford University. His research interests include social stratification and mobility, sociology of education and China's social policy. His research has appeared in China Quarterly, Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, International Journal of Educational Development, Social Sciences in China, Built Environment, China: An International Journal, East Asian Policy, Frontiers of Education in China, Issues and Studies, and so on. He has authored and edited many books, including China's Social Development and Policy (Routledge, 2013); China's Great Urbanization (co-edited with Zheng Yongnian and Sarah Y Tong, Routledge, 2017); China's Reforms at 30: Challenges and Prospects (co-edited with Dali L Yang, World Scientific, 2009).