Social assistance in Shanghai: Dynamics between social protection and informal employment

Abstract

China's social assistance programme (<i>dibao</i> 低保) was introduced in Shanghai in 1993 and gradually extended to cover all urban areas by 1998. Due to massive economic restructuring, starting in the early 1990s, many urban <i>dibao</i> recipients were laid-off, that is, state-owned enterprise (SOE) employees. Shanghai was the epicentre of SOE reform, and the <i>dibao</i> system was primarily introduced to provide a safety net for laid-off workers. In 2010, approximately 3 per cent of urban, permanent residents were on dibao, and 72 per cent of its recipients were working-age adults. We conducted longitudinal qualitative interviews five times over 2 years with 40 <i>dibao</i> families that contained adults of working age in a Shanghai district. The current study demonstrates how they managed their employment, income and the <i>dibao</i> system. Findings suggested that, for various reasons, there was insufficient motivation for recipients to gain reemployment and leave <i>dibao</i>. Furthermore, local cadres, which were responsible for assessing and recommending <i>dibao</i> applicants to the district government, likely just assumed the incomes of adults with working capabilities.