Labor Discontent in China in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

A prominent specialist on the political economy of China compares the responses of Chinese workers to globalization-induced job cuts and benefit reductions with those of workers in two quite different political contexts—France and Mexico. A hypothesis, based on the "terms of attachment" among states, workers, and their unions, is advanced to account for the quite different responses of labor (in terms of propensity to protest) to similar global economic forces buffeting the three countries beginning in the early 1980s. The analysis of labor discontent and unrest in China is based on information on nearly 200 separate events collected by the author from news sources in Hong Kong, the Western media, and Chinese publications. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F02, J51, J52, O15. 1 table, 115 references.

Keywords:

• China
• economic liberalization
• labor unions
• terms of attachment
• worker protest
• globalization
• job loss
• job benefits
• strikes
• unemployment
• unemployment insurance
• labor protest
• France
• Mexico