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This book, based on extensive original research by a range of leading experts, examines many key aspects of current reforms in China's financial sector and China's increasing integration into the international economy. Subjects covered include: the derivatives market; stock market liberalisation; and international foreign direct investment by Chinese firms.

Not all contradictions in society are social contradictions -- The important influence of non-material interest factors on social contradictions -- The important influence of the structure of social power contrasts on social contradictions -- How social contradictions force social development -- A comparison of the contradiction characteristics in traditional and modern society -- Key features of social contradictions in modern China -- Key features of "public versus officials" contradictions in modern China -- Key features of contradictions between rich and poor in contemporary China -- Key features of contradictions between labor and capital in contemporary China -- Key features of social contradictions in the internet era -- The possibility of social unrest in China -- Actively and effectively dealing with social contradictions.

AbstractUsing the most recent data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey for China, this research shows that ownership structure significantly impacts firm performance and firm characteristics. Our results show the importance of getting to grips with government regulation, as the time spent by senior management dealing with government regulation is the most significant independent variable. Another key finding of this article is that China has excellent economic institutions conducive to doing business. It is far easier to conduct business in China than in the other BRIC countries. We conclude that partial privatizations of state‐owned enterprises on their own are unlikely to bring substantial efficiency gains. Reforms must also include better incentives and monitoring of management. Our findings are robust and consistent with various controls, alternative measures of firm performance, and different estimation methods, including quantile regression.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of self-employment, using data from the British Household Panel Survey.Design/methodology/approach– Using the maximum likelihood estimation, the authors estimate the Probit models via disaggregation of the sample by male and female, and inclusion of regional and industrial controls.Findings– This paper finds that the intergenerational links in self-employment run significantly through father-son, and mother-daughter. In addition, the authors find that lump-sum endowment, aspiration, marriage and education attainment are all significant and positive determinants for female self-employed while insignificant for male self-employed. Variables including number of children, health of the individual, and age effect are more important determinants for male than for female self-employed.Research limitations/implications– The findings show that there are significant differences between male and female self-employed. Future studies on self-employment should therefore distinguish the two genders in their econometric models.Originality/value– The authors reinforce and add to the exiting literature on gender differences in the determinants of self-employment. The authors disaggregate the data by gender, and introduce some important variables for empirical studies, such as father self-employed, mother self-employed, aspiration, health of the individual, and age effect.

As the largest transitional economy in the world, China's labour market has a number of characteristics distinctively different from that of the developed economies like the UK or the USA. This paper aims to identify the determinants of unemployment inflow and outflow in urban China. With empirical data for 29 provinces over the period 1989-99, it is found that rural-urban migration, ownership diversification, industrial structural change, international trade, international competitiveness, product wages, and age structure are key determinants of unemployment flows. The results suggest that due to market imperfections, unemployment inflow and outflow are two asymmetric processes with respect to the concerned pre-determined variables.

This paper examines the determinants of multiple job holding in the United Kingdom. We address these issues using data from the first eleven waves of the British Household Panel Survey, which covered the period from 1991 to 2001. Evidence from the BHPS does not support the hypotheses of main job hours constrained and main job insecurity. We argue that the incentive for moonlighting in the United Kingdom is due to financial pressures and the desire for heterogeneous jobs. The empirical work is carried out separately for men and women.

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to understand the dynamics of private sector employment in China in recent years and to provide insight into the effects private sector employment has had on internal variations in growth and development. Our findings indicate a divergence in employment sources in cities and the countryside, a growing spatial divide between areas that rely on state‐owned enterprises for employment, and places where the private sector is an increasingly important employer. We conclude that private enterprises are essential drivers of prosperity in urban China but are less significant for employment or growth in rural areas.