Cheng Li, ed., China's Emerging Middle Class: Beyond Economic Transformation Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2010, 396p. $34.95 paperback

摘要

Cheng Li's China's Emerging Middle Class is a wonderfully crafted book, which offers a fascinating cross section of perspectives on the attitudes, form, professional background, and socio-political implications of China's middle income earners. Parts Ⅰ, Ⅱ, and Ⅲ examine the distinctive characteristics, global significance, and rather disparate nature of China's middle class. The issues of the country's evolving class structure and social stratification are also considered at some length. Parts Ⅳ, Ⅴ, and Ⅵ detail the political role and behavior of China's petite bourgeoisie, lawyers, and managerial personnel. The book's exploration of the relationship between China's middle class, higher education, and housing policy and effects is also rather intriguing. On balance, this reviewer found the book tremendously instructive and a welcome addition to the growing literature on the importance of China's burgeoning middle class. However, the arguments advanced by Kharas and Gertz (Chapter 2), Dickson (Chapter 13), and Chen (Chapter 15) were, at times, difficult to comprehend.