ABSTRACT
Viewed from the perspective of well-being and social security, four developments over the reform period1 stand out. The first is the dramatic fall in rural poverty in the train of the transformation of the rural collective economy. The second is the emergence of a large population of migrants, who suffer from a host of disadvantages. The third is the combination of the steady erosion of the inherited social security regime, a massive retrenchment of labor from the state sector and the appearance of urban poverty as a major social issue. The fourth is the settingup of a new social security regime, a process that is still under way.
