Changing Employment Systems in China: Some Evidence from the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone

A stated objective of the reform of employment systems promulgated by the government in China has been to instil some `free labour market mechanisms' in contrast to the pre-existing highly centralised administered `allocation systems'. This paper seeks to examine the changing patterns of employment against the background of labour reforms in China since 1979. Drawing on case studies conducted in five enterprises in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, it is argued that, despite the evident phenomenal geographical mobility of labour, it appears that the labour force remains very stratified. It is further argued that, paradoxically, the government's institutional barriers appear to be a major cause of such stratification.