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Authors:Xiaochun Huang, Li-An Zhou Pages: 3 - 45 Abstract: Chinese Journal of Sociology, Volume 9, Issue 1, Page 3-45, January 2023. In recent years, the focus of urban grassroots governance in China has experienced a fundamental change in direction from economic growth to public service and social management. Economic growth can be easily quantified, while public service and social management cannot, thus performance evaluation is largely dependent on “impression-based results”. Under such circumstances, a new mechanism of “paired competition” has been put in place to pair superior vertical lines of authority (tiao) with subordinate horizontal levels of grassroots governments (kuai) on a voluntary basis. Pairs compete with other pairs in areas of public services and social management. Paired competition can facilitate close cooperation between the tiao side and the kuai side, promote innovation, and generate quick “impression-based results”. However, the mechanism also generates negative incentives, which lead to excessive innovation and the reluctance to adopt good practices on the part of rival pairings. The case study detailed here is that of a “community analysis tool” promoted by the civil affairs bureau of “district A” in a major Chinese city. In addition to examining the organizational and operational logic of “paired competition”, this study also compared “paired competition” with the traditional methods of the “promotion tournament competition” and “special-purpose project system”. Citation: Chinese Journal of Sociology PubDate: 2023-01-30T06:41:06Z DOI: 10.1177/2057150X221146644 Issue No:Vol. 9, No. 1 (2023)
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Authors:Donglin Zeng, Xiaogang Wu, Wei Chen Pages: 72 - 94 Abstract: Chinese Journal of Sociology, Volume 9, Issue 1, Page 72-94, January 2023. This paper examines whether the spatial concentration of migrants from the same province of origin (native-place in-group members) is associated with a greater degree of social distance from the native residents in Shanghai. Applying spatial clustering analysis to government population registration data, we first define spatial concentration as a high representation of native-place in-group members in a series of adjacent neighborhoods. Combining individual information with household survey data from the Shanghai Urban Neighborhood Survey, we link respondents with population registration data using information on the geographic location of each respondent and distinguish migrants living in spatially clustered communities from their counterparts living elsewhere. This study has two main findings. First, the spatial concentration of in-group members reinforces group identity. Second, migrants living in in-group-clustered communities tend to have a larger social distance from the native residents. We argue that this increased social distance can be explained by the residential segregation created by the spatial concentration of in-group members. We further classify in-group-concentrated communities into segregated and non-segregated communities. Compared with migrants living in non-segregated communities, only those living in segregated communities have a larger social distance from native residents. This finding is only applied to the sample of urban communities. We suspect that the spatial concentration of in-group members leads to greater preservation of the social norms and culture of migrants. Citation: Chinese Journal of Sociology PubDate: 2023-01-30T06:42:05Z DOI: 10.1177/2057150X231152375 Issue No:Vol. 9, No. 1 (2023)
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Authors:Zhiming Sheng, Qing Zhou Pages: 95 - 126 Abstract: Chinese Journal of Sociology, Volume 9, Issue 1, Page 95-126, January 2023. Why do communities in different spatial areas display different types of governance performance' Applying the perspective of spatial theory, this paper proposes an analytical concept of “power space”. The concept refers to the distance between a community and the municipal administrative power center. Based on data drawn from the Shanghai Urban Neighborhood Survey, this study examines the variation in governance performance across communities located in different areas of the spatial structure of city power, and analyzes the causes and mechanisms underlying these differences. The study suggests that the spatial distance between the community and the center of governance power is not merely physical and geographical in nature but also social and political. We find that the distance to the center of power has a significant effect on the types of community governance performance that are easily observable, but little effect on those that are less perceptible. This reveals that power space exerts a strong effect on phenomena that can be easily recognized by higher-level officials, but not on phenomena that are less visible but nevertheless appreciated by the residents. Such a pattern can be explained by the current governance performance assessment system and incentive mechanism. Power space exerts an influence through the mechanisms of public resource allocation and governance performance benchmarks, which are equally applicable to other areas of social governance. In sum, this study contributes to the understanding of the underlying logic of grassroots social governance in contemporary China. Citation: Chinese Journal of Sociology PubDate: 2023-02-02T04:04:31Z DOI: 10.1177/2057150X221150141 Issue No:Vol. 9, No. 1 (2023)
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Authors:Qingong Wei, Jianan Zhang Abstract: Chinese Journal of Sociology, Ahead of Print. The gender gap within families regarding access to educational resources is an important social determinant of gender inequality. Contradicting the conventional “preferring sons to daughters” model of household resource allocation, many studies find that Chinese families nowadays prefer to invest in girls’ after-school education. This study focuses on this empirical fact that has not been examined in depth previously, and attempts to explore its key influence mechanisms. Starting from the theoretical context of intergenerational resource allocation, the article suggests two explanatory hypotheses – “change in family gender preferences” and “divergence between mothers’ and fathers’ gender preferences” – in the analysis of the succession of intergenerational preference patterns. An analysis of the China Education Panel Survey (2013–2014) data on families with male siblings and parents with different education levels is conducted. The statistical results show robustly that the presence of brothers in the family does not negatively impact girls’ access to after-school education, that in urban families girls have a pronounced advantage over boys, and that, overall, there has been a tentative shift from “son preference” to “daughter preference” in Chinese families. In addition, under reciprocal controls, the father's increased education has no significant effect on children but a significant positive effect of the mother's increased education is observed on girls’ access to after-school education, and the latter effect is even more pronounced among younger parents, exhibiting a clear pattern of “dual preferences”. These findings, at the empirical level, reveal that the increased family utility of girls compared to boys and the enhanced status of mothers in the process of social change have driven a shift in the logic of family gender preferences. Citation: Chinese Journal of Sociology PubDate: 2023-05-09T05:13:40Z DOI: 10.1177/2057150X231169450
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Authors:Angran Li Abstract: Chinese Journal of Sociology, Ahead of Print. In recent decades, with the rapid marketization of educational resources in K–12 education, private tutoring has become extremely popular in China, yet the previous research has not yet reached a consensus on the impact of private tutoring on academic outcomes, and has also overlooked the influence of individual choice under the exam-oriented educational system in China. By using data drawn from the China Education Panel Survey, this study examines the heterogeneous treatment effect of private tutoring on 8th graders’ academic performance from the perspective of individual choice. The results show that a propensity to attend private tutoring can differentiate the class disparities among middle school students in terms of individual, family, school, and other factors. Furthermore, the results indicate that private tutoring generally has limited impacts on academic achievement, net of all background factors. However, students whose propensity to attend private tutoring lies in the intermediate range tend to benefit the most from private tutoring. For both students from socioeconomically disadvantaged families with a low propensity and their advantaged counterparts with a high propensity, private tutoring has little effect on their academic performance. Sensitivity analysis further shows that the heterogeneous effects of private tutoring differs across cognitive ability, subject types, and tutoring periods. The finding has important implications for understanding the consequences of China's policy interventions in terms of reducing educational inequality. Citation: Chinese Journal of Sociology PubDate: 2023-05-08T04:05:40Z DOI: 10.1177/2057150X231169449
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Authors:Hong Zou, Zhengcheng Peng, Hongwei Xu Abstract: Chinese Journal of Sociology, Ahead of Print. Son preference is a severe form of gender discrimination and can impair women's health. Drawing on retrospective data from a nationally representative sample, this life course study examines how experience of guardians’ son preference in childhood is associated with Chinese women's health in middle and older age. Using imbalanced sex ratio at birth at the prefecture level as a proxy, this study also examines the health implications of adulthood exposure to regional son preference. Our regression estimates show that childhood experience of the male guardian's son preference is associated with higher biological risks of developing systemic inflammation at the 2015 follow-up among middle-aged and older women who were disease-free at the 2011 baseline. In contrast, childhood experience of the female guardian's son preference is associated with lower risk of developing systemic inflammation or hypertension at the follow-up, conditional on being disease-free at the baseline. Adulthood exposure to stronger regional son preference is associated with higher risk of hypertension at the follow-up, independent of childhood experience of guardians’ son preference. Citation: Chinese Journal of Sociology PubDate: 2023-04-21T03:51:49Z DOI: 10.1177/2057150X231169052
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Authors:Shiyuan Li, Aiyu Liu Abstract: Chinese Journal of Sociology, Ahead of Print. This study focuses on the causal relationship between teenagers’ participation in cram schools and their emotional well-being. Our analysis is based on Chinese Education Panel Survey data (CEPS 2013–2015). We construct instrumental variables and introduce lagged variables to mitigate possible endogeneity problems. The major findings are as follows. First, the participation of socioeconomically disadvantaged teenagers in cram schools significantly exacerbates their negative emotions. Teenagers of advantaged family socioeconomic status (SES) show better ability in emotion regulation and in avoiding specific negative emotions. Second, we explore class heterogeneity in emotion regulation. Specifically, we propose a preliminary theoretical framework based on a typology of parenting styles. We conjecture that parents of different social classes may respond differently to their children's negative emotions. And for children who attend cram schools, there might be intergroup disparities in their own emotion-regulation ability by their class origins. Empirically, we carry out a counterfactual analysis to further illustrate the association between class difference in emotion regulation and that in the depressive effect of cram school participation, providing supporting evidence for our theoretical framework. In sum, our study is helpful to further our understanding of the implications of emotional health inequality which may derive from the “shadow education” system. Citation: Chinese Journal of Sociology PubDate: 2023-04-10T02:43:29Z DOI: 10.1177/2057150X231165145
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Authors:Qian Zhang, Yayi Gao Abstract: Chinese Journal of Sociology, Ahead of Print. Given the intense academic competition in China, we ask the question of whether the academic returns to private tutoring come at the expense of students’ mental health. This topic involves the investigation and analysis of the dual effect of private tutoring. By using China Education Panel Survey data for 2014 and 2015, this study consistently finds that although investing time in private tutoring can boost academic achievement, it has a significant negative impact on students’ mental health. With an increase in average time spent and proportional participation in tutoring at the class level, the positive effect of the time invested in after-school tutoring on academic performance continues to weaken while the negative impact on mental health is gradually enhanced for a given individual. The main triggers for the worsening of mental health are the weakening of the social comparison effect as well as the enhancement of the role stress effect and the sleep deprivation effect. Citation: Chinese Journal of Sociology PubDate: 2023-04-03T06:09:01Z DOI: 10.1177/2057150X231165143
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Authors:Shuoyan Li First page: 46 Abstract: Chinese Journal of Sociology, Ahead of Print. In recent years, a growing number of publications has focused on the state–non-governmental organization relationship in China. However, most of these studies regard the state as “the government” and neglect the role of the Communist Party of China, a key player, in shaping the state–non-governmental organization relationship, as well as the difference between the government and the Communist Party of China. As the ruling party, the Communist Party of China exercises a tremendous influence over people's daily life. Current studies indicate that the government tends to use a strategy of categorization to control non-governmental organizations. What remains unclear, however, is whether the Party has a different impact on non-governmental organizations compared to the government and how it influences the relationship between the government and these organizations. This paper examines the emerging role of the Party since the policy implementation of “Strengthening the Party Organization in NGOs” in 2015, which requires all non-governmental organizations to establish Communist Party of China branch units. Two grassroots environmental non-governmental organizations were selected for the comparative case study of this paper, to examine the different mechanisms whereby the Party impacts such organizations. The findings indicate that only the Party is able to co-opt the leaders of non-governmental organizations and give them political credentials and capital that help to expand these organizations’ social networks and create a hospitable regulative environment for growth. The findings suggest that a close tie with the state does not necessarily mean a loss of autonomy. This study is by no means a comprehensive discussion of the impact of the Party on non-governmental organizations, and further research is needed to study the actual impact of this relationship on public governance. Citation: Chinese Journal of Sociology PubDate: 2023-01-27T10:42:51Z DOI: 10.1177/2057150X221150584
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Authors:Xiangyang Bi, Mo Li First page: 127 Abstract: Chinese Journal of Sociology, Ahead of Print. Based on data collected from residential aged care facility websites and the Sixth China National Population Census, this paper studies the spatial pattern of Beijing's aged care resources in the framework of spatial location of public facilities. The results show that at the township/street level, the overall distribution of public aged care resources is relatively balanced, showing positive spatial autocorrelation, while private aged care resources show partially negative spatial autocorrelation. Spatial regression analysis indicates that the dispersed and clustered distribution of private aged care resources are more sensitive to the density of local elderly population, although the distribution of two types of resources is affected by the absolute number of service objects in respective administrative areas. In short, the spatial distribution pattern of public and private aged care resources reflects the contrast between efficiency and equity in providing aging care in China, a fact that is shaped by both administrative and market forces. Citation: Chinese Journal of Sociology PubDate: 2023-01-12T06:03:49Z DOI: 10.1177/2057150X221146646
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