Welfare and Family in Low-income Context: The Policy Tools, Processes, and Effects of Social Safety Net in China

This book examines the policy tools, processes, and effects of China’s social safety net. While much of the existing literature in this field has focused on individual programs—such as Dibao—this book adopts a broader perspective by analyzing the Social Safety Net as an interconnected welfare system. Drawing on mixed methods, the book investigates the policy configuration, the effectiveness of different policy tools, and the lived experiences of welfare recipients in China. It first documents regional disparities in benefit packages using the Model Family method, highlighting how identical families with similar profiles experience different composition and levels of support across locations. It then employs quasi-experimental analysis with national survey data to evaluate how participation in multiple programs support low-income children’s development and alleviate family pressures. Finally, it offers qualitative insights into welfare recipients’ experiences, exploring how various welfare measures shape the livelihood strategies of low-income families through the theoretical framework of familization and defamilization. By integrating descriptive, quantitative, and qualitative reserach, this book demonstrates the heterogeneity of China’s Social Safety Net in terms of the configuration of policy tools, their effectiveness, and the mechanisms through which they shape family dynamics. It provides insights for policymakers seeking to develop more synergistic and efficient combinations of policy tools to better support the diverse needs of low-income families. This book will be of interest to scholars of social policy, family studies, and East Asian welfare regimes, as well as policymakers and practitioners concerned with poverty reduction and family well-being in China and beyond.

Dr. Xi Zhao is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Studies of Sociological Theory & Method, Renmin University of China; the School of Social Research, Renmin University of China. Her research specializes in social policy evaluation, poverty and social assistance, and comparative social welfare. Her research articles have been published in peer-reviewed journals indexed in SSCI and CSSCI. She has served as PI on research projects funded by the Beijing Social Science Foundation, among others.