Rural Livelihoods in China

Heather Xiaoquan Zhang is Senior Lecturer in Chinese Social Studies at the University of Leeds, UK.

• 1.Introduction: Rural Livelihood Transformation and Political Economy in China Part 1: Mobility and Livelihoods 2. Migration, Risk and Livelihood Struggles in China 3. Social Protection and Livelihoods: Providing Old-Age Social Insurance for Migrant Workers in China 4. Sustaining Livelihoods in Urban Villages – Health risks and health strategies among rural-to-urban migrants in China: The case of Guangzhou 5. Legal Activism or Class Action? The Political Economy of the "No Boss" and "No Labour Relationship" in China's Construction Industry Part 2: Sustainable livelihoods 6. Biotech Politics in an Emerging Economy: Is China a Developmental Risk Society? 7. Small Cotton Farmers, Livelihood Diversification and Policy Interventions in Southern Xinjiang 8. Rural Finance and Development in China: The state of the art and ways forward 9. The Effects of Political Recentralisation on Rural Livelihoods in Anhui 10. From Taxing to Subsidising Farmers: Designing and implementing the "Four Subsidies" in China

"Rural Livelihoods in China challenges us to transcend modernist frameworks in the analysis of China’s massive historical transformation and its attendant social development issues. By examining the struggle over rural livelihoods in China through the double lens of sustainability and mobility, this superb collection eloquently demonstrates why debates on China should move to the center stage in mainstream and critical debates on development alike. Through careful empirical research, policy analysis, and far-sighted theoretical argumentation, successive chapters accomplish a significant rearticulation of established concepts in livelihood analysis. What emerges from these pages, in the last instance, is a much enriched and transformed view of both Chinese studies and development theory and practice."Arturo Escobar, University of North Carolina, USA"This collection by leading scholars urges us to critically rethink the taken-for-granted urban-biased development and modernization discourse that has been dominating China’s development for decades. It invites all readers to think deeply about a basic question, that is, what kind of life rural people really want? And what kind of countryside a developmental state could allow rural people to have?"Jingzhong Ye, China Agricultural University, China "Without losing sight of the specificities of each case in China’s historical and social contexts, chapters in this collection subject a range of timely topics to analytical interrogation from the livelihood perspective. This is a book that offers rich empirical details and insightful theoretical discussions for both China experts, and students and scholars in development studies."Qian Forrest Zhang, Singapore Management University, Singapore