Elite Mobility in Post-Reform Rural China

Abstract

This study examines the mechanisms and factors that affect the stratification order in post-reform rural China. Using inter-village variations and measurements of social capital and kinship capital, it examines multilevel relationships between village context and individual determinants of career opportunities. It identifies two distinct paths into political and economic elite groups, one emphasizing party loyally and the other meritocratic principles. At the same time, the political rewards of social capital and kinship networks further show how local social institutions drive stratification order. For cadre posts, the effects of political capital increase notably when it is accompanied by social capital and kinship capital in addition to human capital. That is, those who are Party members, better educated, more socially connected, and originate from a strong sub- lineage are more likely to become village cadres. When it comes to entry into entrepreneurship, political, social and kinship capital lose ground to human capital, which plays a determining role. Nevertheless, two village-level factors-the degree of industrialization and commercialization and the degree to which there is a developmental local state-are found to have significant effects on one likelihood of becoming an entrepreneur This study concludes that the distinct paths of status attainment for political and economic elites are products of the workings of distinctive social and economic institutions in today`s Chinese villages.