There have been two hands exerting influence on China’s resource allocation and economic development: one is tangible (government intervention), and the other intangible (market regulation). This book focuses on a third factor, another invisible hand, which is social structure transformation.

This two part study explores the process of China’s social structure transformation while conducting a theoretical examination of its characteristics. The first part presents a theoretical analysis of the nature of social structure transformation and its economic consequences, both in general and within the Chinese context. The second part examines the transformation of urban and rural societies in contemporary China from different perspectives; including state-owned enterprises, laid-off urban workers, rural migrants, and rural industrialization.

The book is written for scholars, researchers and students across the social sciences and area studies, including Sociology, Urban studies, Rural studies, Contemporary China studies and all those who are interested in economic development in China.