ABSTRACT
Enterprise restructuring reflects deeply rooted trends in the Chinese economy. Its impact depends partly on central government policy stance, but more fundamentally on the working out of these powerful economic and social trends. Central government policies have cleared the way for these forces to reshape urban social relations, by removing ideological blockades, by creating a (rickety) framework for social service delivery outside the enterprise, and by sanctioning the flow of resources into welfare-like job creation programmes. However, the key forces driving the process lie outside the scope of government policy. They include a more intensely competitive product marketplace, new opportunities for urban residents in higher-income occupations, increased job market competition for urban residents from rural migrants, and the elimination of constraints on enterprise hiring and (especially) firing. These forces will continue to drive enterprise restructuring forward, albeit at an uneven and inconsistent pace.
