Showing papers by "Yu Xie published in 2009"

Do sons or daughters give more money to parents in urban china

Abstract: The patriarchal structure of the traditional Chinese family suggests that sons, more than daughters, provide financial support to elderly parents. The norm of receiving support in old age primarily from sons, however, may have been undermined by dramatic demographic, economic, and cultural changes occurring over the last several decades in China, especially in urban areas. We examine gender differences in adult children's financial support to parents using a recent dataset ("Study of Family Life in Urban China") collected in 1999 (N = 1,801). The results show that married daughters, especially those living with parents, provide more financial support to parents than married sons do. This significant gender difference can be primarily explained by daughters' resources, such as education and income.

Danwei and Social Inequality in Contemporary Urban China

Abstract: Prior research showed that danwei, the work unit, was very important in determining workers' social, economic, and political lives in pre-reform urban China. In this chapter, we argue that danwei continues to be an agent of social stratification in contemporary urban China. Using data from a 1999 survey that we conducted in three large Chinese cities, Wuhan, Shanghai, and Xi'an, we assess the extent to which workers' socioeconomic well-being depends on the financial conditions of their danwei. Results show that the financial situation of danwei remains one of the most important determinants of earnings and benefits. However, the explanatory power of danwei's financial situation is much greater for earnings than for benefits.

Knowledge and Beliefs Concerning Development and Income Inequality in China and the United States

Abstract: This paper investigates the knowledge and beliefs of ordinary people in China and the United States about levels and trends in societal development and income inequality. We also investigate whether individual Chinese and Americans believe that development and inequality are positively or negatively interrelated. Our paper is guided by the hypothesis that people’s views about development and income inequality are affected by the international dissemination of information and ideas about these topics and by actual trends in development and inequality in a person’s country. Our data come from three surveys in the United States and two surveys in China conducted in 2006 and 2007. These data show that people in both countries perceive an international hierarchy of countries on development that is very similar to the development hierarchy of the United Nations Human Development Index. These data also show that in both countries there is little correspondence between respondent views of income inequality and the actual levels of inequality in countries. Our analyses also indicate that both Americans and Chinese perceive positive links between levels of development and income inequality, with the relationships more pronounced in China than in the U.S. The majority of people in both countries perceive development programs as increasing the levels of income inequality.