Perceptions of subjective economic well-being and support for market reform among China's urban population

This article examines whether subjective economic assessments have any impact on support for further market reforms among China's urban population, utilising a large survey of 10,716 people across 32 cities. The effect of subjective economic well-being on support for market reforms is an important issue for the Chinese government as it seeks to sell the benefits of increased globalisation and marketisation to its citizens. Our main finding is that people's assessment of the overall economic situation helps to explain support for market reform, although the relationship is weak, while people's assessment of their own economic circumstances does not influence support for reform. The findings are compared with those of similar studies for Central and Eastern Europe. © 2005 Centre for Research into Post-Communist Economies.