Attitudes Toward Government Responsibility for Social Services: Comparing Urban and Rural China

This study compares how urban and rural Chinese view government responsibility for social services differently based on analysis of data from a nationally representative sample survey in China in 2004. It finds that disadvantaged people of the rural origin, particularly rural residents staying in the countryside, are less likely than privileged urban residents to demand government intervention. Equally important, urban and rural Chinese form such different views via different mechanisms, as indicated by varying influences of objective circumstances, subjective evaluations of life, social concerns, and access to information between the two groups. It is argued that these patterns of urban-rural variations largely result from the unique divisive household registration (hukou) system and related policies in China. This study extends the theory on how state policies shape attitudes toward redistribution.