Social stratification and housing inequality in transitional urban China

Abstract

The shift to a market economy in the past few decades has privatised the housing market and transformed housing into a crucial part of social stratification in urban China as in many Western capitalist countries. The hukou system which is based on the place of origin has long been a major state institution connected with where people reside and their entitlements in China. However, the existing research has been paid little attention to the multi-dimensions of the hukou system and the emerging class structure in the process of market transformation. I conceptualise hukou stratification in transitional urban China based on three dimensions and construct a new class typology based on Wright's capitalist class theory. Using the 2010–2013 Chinese General Social Survey, I investigate the effects of hukou and class on two housing outcomes: homeownership and housing space. The findings reveal that hukou is more important than class in determining homeownership, but class is more important than hukou in determining workers’ housing space in transitional urban China. This study contributes to the ongoing market transition debate, the results of which deepen insights into the hybrid nature of the stratification outcomes in the context of China’s market transition.