Fostering a middle class

By Yao Bin
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Beijing Review, September 15, 2011
Adjust font size:

Though there is no official definition of "middle class" in China, the tag has become one few Chinese people believe they deserve anyway.

In early August, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences released a report on China's urban development, saying China had a middle-class population of 230 million in 2009, or 37 percent of its urban residents. It also forecast half of city dwellers in China would be part of the middle class by 2023.

The conclusion, however, met strong criticism as most urban residents, no matter how much they earn, said they were heavily burdened by everyday work and life.

From the great changes in its social structure onward since the 1980s, China does have an expanding group of people with high incomes and lifestyles reflecting well-being. They consist mainly of private entrepreneurs, office workers, professionals such as lawyers and IT engineers, and freelance workers.

Authors of the report used the Engel's Coefficient, the ratio of expenditure on food to personal consumption, as the criterion in their study. In light of the report's definition, people who spend 30 to 37.3 percent of income on food should be categorized as middle class.

Standards set by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization indicate an Engel's Coefficient above 59 percent represents absolute poverty; 50-59 percent, barely enough food and clothing; 40-50 percent, a "moderately well-off" standard of living; 30-40 percent, a "well-to-do" standard of living; and below 30 percent, a "wealthy" life.

But, using the Engel's Coefficient alone in the classification of people may exaggerate the situation.

Take Beijing, for example. Residents surely spend less on food. But, their expenses for housing, medical care, education and many other daily necessities have increased rapidly since Beijing has already made the list of the world's top 20 most expensive cities. Especially against rising inflation in recent years, their purchasing power is shrinking.

It's generally believed an olive-shaped social structure, with the largest proportion of middle class and small scale on both ends, is the most stable. In contrast, China's social structure is really pyramidal. A World Bank report in 2010 said the top 1 percent of Chinese families owned 41.4 percent of the wealth.

To tackle this more serious challenge, the Chinese Government must speed up efforts to reform the income distribution system, improve the social safety net and give private businesses greater market access to more sectors, instead of focusing on the statistical perspective of the middle class.

Print E-mail Bookmark and Share

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)

No comments.

Add your comments...

  • User Name Required
  • Your Comment
  • Racist, abusive and off-topic comments may be removed by the moderator.
Send your storiesGet more from China.org.cnMobileRSSNewsletter
主站蜘蛛池模板: 在免费jizzjizz在线播| 成年人免费观看| 亚洲码在线中文在线观看| 综合久久给合久久狠狠狠97色| 国产女人aaa级久久久级| 香蕉狠狠再啪线视频| 国自产拍在线天天更新91| 一个人www免费看的视频| 无码精品A∨在线观看十八禁 | 一个色中文字幕| 我想看一级毛片| 久久久久久国产精品三级| 日韩三级免费电影| 亚洲av无码专区在线播放| 欧美性极品hd高清视频| 亚洲热妇无码av在线播放| 狠狠入ady亚洲精品| 免费涩涩在线视频网| 精品四虎免费观看国产高清午夜| 四虎影视免费永久在线观看| 草莓黄色app| 国产国产精品人在线观看| 亚洲娇小性色xxxx| 国产精品亚洲专区无码不卡 | 最近最新2019中文字幕4| 亚洲午夜精品久久久久久人妖| 欧美日韩综合网| 亚洲最大在线视频| 欧美粗大猛烈水多18p| 亚洲的天堂av无码| 毛片毛片免费看| 亚洲精品国产精品国自产网站| 浮力影院第一页| 亚洲综合丁香婷婷六月香| 爽新片xxxxxxx| 亚洲精品无码高潮喷水在线| 狠狠入ady亚洲精品| 亚洲综合激情视频| 波多野结衣免费| 亚洲欧美日韩一区在线观看| 欧美美女视频网站|