Introduction: welfare reforms and inequalities

In the first three decades of China's economic reform, Chinese leaders emphasised economic growth at the expense of equality. Insurance-based healthcare and pension schemes were introduced, which excluded nonemployed people and poor people from accessing medical treatment and retirement protection. Migrant workers and their family members were excluded from obtaining local social services. Inequalities were the social costs of China's first two and a half decades of economic reform. Later, during presidents Hu's and Xi's administrations, China revised its development approach to develop a common well-being and a harmonious society. Accordingly, the government should take up more welfare duties by improving medical care and providing financial assistance to poor people. In the past, it implemented a targeted poverty approach by helping farmers to develop industries and increase their income. The deprived groups can also now access financial support and medical treatments. Migrant workers have more opportunities to settle in cities and become local residents. This book presents the conditions of different groups of service users and the development of several main social services. It reveals how policy changes shape their chances and analyses their effects on inequalities.