From the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations Description:
"Even as China’s economic reforms in the 1980s and 90s laid the foundation for it to become an economic powerhouse, increasingly wide gaps opened up between rich and poor, leaving behind those ill-equipped to compete in a market economy. The massive changes taking place were also reflected in the uneven distribution of social welfare benefits, which tended to accrue to those best positioned to succeed under the new system. In 1993, Shanghai implemented a minimum livelihood guarantee or Dibao, an anti-poverty safety net. Since then, the program has expanded throughout China and is centrally regulated.
"Today, Dibao serves as the country’s primary social insurance program. Even though it is the largest welfare program in the world, there has been little English-language research evaluating the effectiveness of the Dibao system. In her new book, Welfare, Work, and Poverty: Social Assistance in China, Columbia University professor and expert on low-income families in China Qin Gao attempts to rectify this deficiency by answering key questions about the program’s efficacy. Dr. Gao examines how successful the Dibao system has been in alleviating poverty, as well as patterns of behavior and the sense of well-being among Dibao recipients. Her work not only deepens our understanding of entitlements in China but also adds the Chinese case as a comparative example to the growing body of literature looking at welfare systems around the world."
