ABSTRACT
In 1993, along with the acceleration of state enterprise reform, China for the first time encountered large-scale unemployment. In 1998, the goal of eliminating deficits of state enterprises within 3 years was set, and the number of unemployed reached a peak and exceeded 10 million. Because China’s social security system was underdeveloped at that time, particularly because of the absence of unemployment insurance, the unemployed population fell into poverty due to the loss of income sources and became the “new poor” in urban China (Chu 1997; Research Team of Urban Poor 1997; Tang et al. 1999; Li 2000; Yang 2000; Meng 2006; Price et al. 2007).
