Joseph C. Morreale

Department of Economics, Pace University

USA

jmorreale@pace.edu

China’s rising middle class: A case study of Shanghai college students

Anna Shostya

Department of Economics, Pace University

USA

ashostya@pace.edu

Mariana Villada

Department of Economics, Pace University

USA

mv09509n@pace.edu

Abstract. One of the hotly debated questions in socio-economic literature is the one pertaining the rise of the middle class in China and its potential influence on political and social structures. This paper is a study of the perceptions of Chinese young adults on the rise of the middle class in China. We address such questions as: How do university students in China define the middle class and perceive its growth? How do they see future economic, political and social changes in China? We conducted the survey case study of 204 Chinese undergraduate students at a major university in Shanghai. Our results show that the students have a strong belief in the rise of the middle class in China. They expect this rise to affect China’s economic structure to a larger extent than the social and political order. We conclude that the surveyed Chinese college students may belong to what is called – “Generation 2”: they are confident, independent minded and determined to display that independence through their consumption of Western products. The results of our survey are compared and contrasted to the findings of the national surveys addressing similar questions.

Received: December, 2017

1st Revision: February, 2018

Accepted: May, 2018

DOI: 10.14254/2071-8330.2018/11-2/1

JEL Classification: D31, O53, P20

Keywords: China, youths’ perceptions, college students in Shanghai, middle class, attributes of middle class, economic, social and political changes