The book reports on the development of household finances in rural China. It is based on the results of an on-site survey conducted door to door by a research team from the Survey and Research Center for China Household Finance, the largest survey center in China – and perhaps the world – that specializes in Chinese household finances. Directed by financial experts that enjoy the highest honors in their field and the largest interviewer group in China, it reveals the most realistic picture of rural China available today and highlights a topic about which people worry most: household finances. By reading this inspiring report, readers will be able to better understand China from a household finance perspective.

This book offers insights into the scholarly debates on formal and informal finance in rural China and fills a gap in the existing literature. The book provides an overview of the overall development of rural finance in China and explains the necessity of embarking on the pathway toward rural financial pluralization through the "Local Knowledge Paradigm". The authors also analyze formal and informal financial development and inclusive finance (including digital inclusive finance) in rural China in various dimensions. This book aids the understanding of the structure of the rural financial system and the operations of rural financial service providers in China. It will be a useful reference for those researching and interested in rural economy and rural finance.

Household finance studies is a relatively recent field, exploring a growing understanding of how households make financial decisions relating to the functions of consumption, payment, risk management, borrowing and investing; how institutions provide goods and services to satisfy these financial functions of households; and how interventions by firms, governments and other parties affect the provision of financial services. This timely book analyses existing findings about household behavior as well as findings related to policy interventions. With international case studies, this book reviews a topic of global importance and brings a crucial up-to-date survey of the field for researchers and postgraduate students.

We are only in the early stages of a broader revolution that will impact every aspect of the global economy, including commerce and government services. Coming financial technology innovations could improve the quality of life for all people. Over the past few decades, digital technology has transformed finance. Financial technology (fintech) has enabled more people with fewer resources, in more places around the world, to take advantage of banking, insurance, credit, investment, and other financial services. Marion Laboure and Nicolas Deffrennes argue that these changes are only the tip of the iceberg. A much broader revolution is under way that, if steered correctly, will lead to huge and beneficial social change. The authors describe the genesis of recent financial innovations and how they have helped consumers in rich and poor countries alike by reducing costs, increasing accessibility, and improving convenience and efficiency. They connect the dots between early innovations in financial services and the wider revolution unfolding today. Changes may disrupt traditional financial services, especially banking, but they may also help us address major social challenges: opening new career paths for millennials, transforming government services, and expanding the gig economy in developed markets. Fintech could lead to economic infrastructure developments in rural areas and could facilitate emerging social security and healthcare systems in developing countries. The authors make this case with a rich combination of economic theory and case studies, including microanalyses of the effects of fintech innovations on individuals, as well as macroeconomic perspectives on fintech's impact on societies. While celebrating fintech's achievements to date, Laboure and Deffrennes also make recommendations for overcoming the obstacles that remain. The stakes--improved quality of life for all people--could not be higher.

This book examines the credit needs and the borrowing behaviour of rural households in China in recent years. Based on a micro-study of three villages with dissimilar economic characteristics in Jiangxi province, this book investigates the sources of finance, formal and informal, in rural areas and the different types of credit that farmers demand. It demonstrates the importance of innovative institutional arrangements in rural China and new instruments that give farmers access to formal rural financial markets and enable them to utilize credit effectively, concluding that further reforms are necessary for this to be achieved.

Over the past quarter-century China has seen a dramatic increase in income inequality, prompting a shift in China's development strategy and the adoption of an array of new policies to redistribute income, promote shared growth, and establish a social safety net. Drawing on of household-level data from the China Household Income Project, Changing Trends in China's Inequality provides an independent, comprehensive, and empirically grounded study of the evolution of incomes and inequality in China over time. Edited by leading experts on the Chinese economy, the volume analyzes this evolution in China as a whole as well as in the urban and rural sectors, with close attention to measurement issues and to shifts in the economy, institutions, and public policy. Specific essays provides analyses of China's wealth inequality, the emergence of a new middle class, the income gap between the Han majority and the ethnic minorities, the gender wage gap, and the impacts of government policies such as social welfare programs and the minimum wage.

Literature on China's finance in the West has focused on "financial repression" in its highly regulated financial markets. However, fundamental changes in China's financial system are underway and China's peer-to-peer (P2P) lending is now the largest in the world. This book uses exclusive researches, interviews and surveys to bring readers a clear picture of the rapidly developing P2P lending industry in China. It is comprised of two parts. The first part is a comprehensive analysis of China's P2P lending industry. It outlines the factors behind the meteoric rise of P2P lending in China, and also the challenges its rapid rise has posed. The second part is a panoramic survey of China's P2P lending industry with study of typical cases, which could also provide reference to the analysis in the first part. Besides, it introduces the existing relevant regulations, regulators, likely upcoming regulatory measures as well as the diverse body of new financial institutions appearing with the development of the industry, to analyse in-depth the current functioning of the industry in China and its lending practices through a large scale survey.

Through a rigorous examination of “China’s rise”, Lee addresses an important question—Did China catch up? Or more specifically, can growth be automatically translated to catching up with the advanced industrialised countries or has it only allowed limited progress (if any) to be made? To answer these queries and the broader question of the possibility of the Global South converging with the Global North, four development theories are utilised, with competing explanations, to uncover the complexity and multifaceted development of China. This includes whether China really has a unique developmental model to offer. Positioning China within the global economy, this book traces its developmental progress over time as well as its progress relative to other countries. To understand whether the Chinese political economy is socialist (or not), Lee moves away from the orthodox definition of socialism and instead examines the official narrative of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. Lastly, this book argues that though China is catching up, challenges that could potentially block China’s progress for a full catch‐up are to be anticipated. A useful resource for students and scholars in the fields of international relations, international political economy, Chinese studies, and development studies.

Critical Issues in Contemporary China: Unity, Stability and Development comprehensively examines key problems crucial to understanding modern-day China. Organized around three interrelated themes of unity, stability and development, each chapter explores distinct issues and debate their significance for China domestically and for Beijing’s engagement with the wider world. While presenting contending explanatory approaches, contributors advance arguments to further critical discussion on selected topics. Main issues analysed include: political change military transformation legal reforms economic development energy security environmental degradation food security and safety demographic trends migration and urbanization labour unrest health and education social inequalities ethnic conflicts Hong Kong’s integration cross-Strait relations. Given its thorough and up-to-date assessment of major political, social and economic challenges facing China, this fully revised and substantially expanded new edition is an essential read for any student of Chinese Studies.