Chapter 13: Subjective Social Status in Urban China: Exploring the Impact of Family Resources and Social Networks

This chapter examines the factors that tend to be associated with subjective social status in urban China in the era of the market-oriented reform. Using data from the Chinese General Social Survey in 2003, this study finds that, with individuals’ demographic and socio-economic background held constant, multiple types of family resources (i.e., economic, cultural, and political) and characteristics of social networks are significantly associated with people’s perception of where they stand in the transitional society. The findings highlight the importance of examining family and social networks in the Chinese context and make an empirical contribution to enriching the literature on subjective social status.