This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the patterns and trends of socio-economic development and social division in contemporary Chinese society. It discusses the determinants, manifestations and consequences of social inequality in the last 40 years with particular regard to social mobility, educational attainment, social capital, health, labor market position, including employment (opportunity), career advancement and earnings, housing, wealth and assets, urbanization, social integration of migrant peasant workers into urban life, social protest and civic engagement, subjective well-being and subjective social status.

Social mobility has long been one of the central topics of sociology. It has been the subject of major theoretical contributions from the earliest generations of scholars, as well as being of persistent political interest and concern. Social mobility is frequently used as a key measure of fairness and social justice, given the central role that modern liberal democracies give to equality of opportunity. More pragmatically, policymakers often consider it a force for economic growth and social integration.    However, discussions of social mobility have increasingly become dominated by advanced statistical techniques, impenetrable to all but specialists in quantitative methods. In this concise and lucid book, Anthony Heath and Yaojun Li cut through the technical literature to provide an eye-opening account of the ideas, debates and realities that surround this important social phenomenon. Their book illuminates the major patterns and trends in rates of social mobility, and their drivers, in contemporary western and emerging societies, ultimately enabling readers to understand and engage with this perennially relevant social issue. 

Social capital is fundamentally concerned with resources in social relations. This Handbook brings together leading scholars from around the world to address important questions on the determinants, manifestations and consequences of social capital. Various mechanisms of formal and informal social involvement, its relationship with other forms of social exclusion and its role in civic, instrumental and expressive domains of our socio-economic and community lives are explored. This unique Handbook: * combines cutting-edge theory with appropriate data and methods * explores the mechanisms of formal and informal social involvement including the role of parental class and cultural influence, and the consequences for our personal and community lives * links social capital with other domains of social inequality such as cultural practice and philanthropic behaviour in an in-depth examination of the social stratification processes * conducts a thorough analysis of formal and informal social involvement, and bonding and bridging social ties on trust, tolerance, community cohesion, educational attainment, labour market position, quality of life and ethnic entrepreneurism * analyzes social capital as both an outcome and as a mediating variable at the micro, meso and macro levels. Accessible yet rigorous, this Handbook presents a challenge to both social capital researchers interested in explaining social inequality and to policy-makers with responsibility for designing effective measures for combating social exclusion. It will also be essential reading for students in sociology, political science, developmental economics and management studies. Contributors: N. Allum, R. Andersen, L. Becares, Y. Bian, F. Buscha, C. Cheng, R.R. Cote, D. Cutts, N. Demireva, F. Devine, J.K. Dhillon, L. Donato, B.H. Erickson, J. Fiel, J. Field, E. Fieldhouse, A. Gamoran, A. Garcia-Macias, D. Griffiths, A. Heath, X. Huang, P.S. Lambert, J. Laurence, Y. Li, M. Lubbers, J.L. Molina, J. Nazroo, J. Pampalona, R. Patulny, J. Rodriguez Menes, M. Savage, M. Shoji, P. Sturgis, E.M. Uslaner, H. Valenzuela-Garcia, P.-P. Verhaeghe, W. Wang, A. Warde, M. Western, L. Zhang, L. Zhang, W. Zhang

Social capital is fundamentally concerned with resources in social relations. This Handbook brings together leading scholars from around the world to address important questions on the determinants, manifestations and consequences of social capital. Various mechanisms of formal and informal social involvement, its relationship with other forms of social exclusion and its role in civic, instrumental and expressive domains of our socio-economic and community lives are explored. This unique Handbook: * combines cutting-edge theory with appropriate data and methods * explores the mechanisms of formal and informal social involvement including the role of parental class and cultural influence, and the consequences for our personal and community lives * links social capital with other domains of social inequality such as cultural practice and philanthropic behaviour in an in-depth examination of the social stratification processes * conducts a thorough analysis of formal and informal social involvement, and bonding and bridging social ties on trust, tolerance, community cohesion, educational attainment, labour market position, quality of life and ethnic entrepreneurism * analyzes social capital as both an outcome and as a mediating variable at the micro, meso and macro levels. Accessible yet rigorous, this Handbook presents a challenge to both social capital researchers interested in explaining social inequality and to policy-makers with responsibility for designing effective measures for combating social exclusion. It will also be essential reading for students in sociology, political science, developmental economics and management studies. Contributors: N. Allum, R. Andersen, L. Becares, Y. Bian, F. Buscha, C. Cheng, R.R. Cote, D. Cutts, N. Demireva, F. Devine, J.K. Dhillon, L. Donato, B.H. Erickson, J. Fiel, J. Field, E. Fieldhouse, A. Gamoran, A. Garcia-Macias, D. Griffiths, A. Heath, X. Huang, P.S. Lambert, J. Laurence, Y. Li, M. Lubbers, J.L. Molina, J. Nazroo, J. Pampalona, R. Patulny, J. Rodriguez Menes, M. Savage, M. Shoji, P. Sturgis, E.M. Uslaner, H. Valenzuela-Garcia, P.-P. Verhaeghe, W. Wang, A. Warde, M. Western, L. Zhang, L. Zhang, W. Zhang

In his landmark 1942 report on social insurance Sir William Beveridge talked about the 'five giants on the road to reconstruction' - the giants of Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor, and Idleness. Social Progress in Britain investigates how much progress Britain has made in tackling the challenges of material deprivation, ill-health, educational standards, lack of housing, and unemployment in the decades since Beveridge wrote. It also asks how progress in Britain compares with that of peer countries - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden and the USA. Has Britain been slipping behind? What has been the impact of the increased economic inequality which Britain experienced in the 1980s - has rising economic inequality been mirrored by increasing inequalities in other areas of life too? Have there been increasing inequalities of opportunity between social classes, men and women, and different ethnic groups? And what have been the implications for Britain's sense of social cohesion?

Social mobility has long been one of the central topics of sociology. It has been the subject of major theoretical contributions from the earliest generations of scholars, as well as being of persistent political interest and concern. Social mobility is frequently used as a key measure of fairness and social justice, given the central role that modern liberal democracies give to equality of opportunity. More pragmatically, policymakers often consider it a force for economic growth and social integration.    However, discussions of social mobility have increasingly become dominated by advanced statistical techniques, impenetrable to all but specialists in quantitative methods. In this concise and lucid book, Anthony Heath and Yaojun Li cut through the technical literature to provide an eye-opening account of the ideas, debates and realities that surround this important social phenomenon. Their book illuminates the major patterns and trends in rates of social mobility, and their drivers, in contemporary western and emerging societies, ultimately enabling readers to understand and engage with this perennially relevant social issue.