Abstract
Covid-19 has affected everyone in China, but not equally. Previous studies have mostly focused on the more severe income loss experienced by socio-economically disadvantaged groups during the pandemic, ignoring income disparities within elite groups. Using data from the 2021 Chinese General Social Survey, this paper finds that administrative elites experienced relatively less income loss during the pandemic, while market elites faced more severe losses, even exceeding those of the non-elite group. The disparity between the two elite groups in their resilience to income risk, represented by the type of pay, is an important mechanism behind their divergence in income loss. Additionally, in regions where the redistribution system was further strengthened, the income losses of administrative elites decreased further, while in areas with more severe market closures, the income losses of market elites increased further. This study enhances our understanding of the heterogeneity within China’s elites and the tension between the market system and the redistribution system in contemporary China.
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Editor’s notes
Manuscript received on 18 March 2024. Accepted on 7 October 2024.
Excerpt
Full text document will be published online on December 2025.
Outline
Introduction
Data, variables, and statistical models
Data
Variables
Outcome variable: Extent of income loss
Main explanatory variables: Elite type
Control variables
Model setting
Research findings
Cross-year variations in income among different elite groups
Descriptive statistics
Baseline regressions
Moderation and mediation
Further analysis: Spousal factors and income volatility
Incorporating spousal factors
Revisiting income volatility
Conclusion and discussions
First lines
Introduction
As one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, Covid-19 has claimed the lives of more than 7 million people worldwide since its first outbreak. The impact of the pandemic nevertheless extended far beyond the realm of public health. Research has shown that Covid-19 brought about various social consequences, including macroeconomic decline, increased unemployment, exacerbated racism, and divergence in satisfaction with the government (Brodeur et al. 2021; Elias et al. 2021; Wu et al. 2021).
At the individual level, one of the most significant socioeconomic impacts of Covid-19 is loss of income. Research conducted in various corners of the world has yielded consistent findings: overall, people’s incomes have suffered loss during the Covid-19 pandemic, but those with lower socioeconomic status suffered more (Almeida et al. 2021; Brewer and Tasseva 2021; Kansiime et al. 2021). Similar Matthew effect was also found in China. Scholars have shown that Chinese individu...
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References
Bibliographical reference
Qingyi Zhao and Haijun Shi, “Different Privileges, Divergent Paths: Income Loss Among Administrative Elites and Market Elites in China During Covid-19”, China Perspectives, 139 | 2024, 47-58.
Electronic reference
Qingyi Zhao and Haijun Shi, “Different Privileges, Divergent Paths: Income Loss Among Administrative Elites and Market Elites in China During Covid-19”, China Perspectives [Online], 139 | 2024, Online since 01 December 2025, connection on 21 January 2025. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/17477; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/130gr
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About the authors
Qingyi Zhao is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Room 123, Mingzhai Building, Haidian District, Beijing 100084, China (lanyiqingyi1999@qq.com).
Haijun Shi (corresponding author) is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Xiong Zhixing Building, Haidian District, Beijing 100084, China (shihaijun6324@gmail.com).
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Copyright
The text and other elements (illustrations, imported files) are “All rights reserved”, unless otherwise stated.
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