ABSTRACT
In China Studies it is really no longer acceptable to argue that a case study is based on a typical locality: contextualisation is everything. Market Transition Theory has argued that the impact of the introduction of market forces into China’s state socialist economic system have a profound impact on the local elites, influencing not only class formation, but also the exercise of power. Market Transition Theory predicts dramatic change in both the local elite and the political system. Especially if one takes a longer historical look at the elites in question then it becomes likely that social status is also an explanatory factor in the determination of the wealth and power of local elites. The information about both education and social mobility suggests that local elites may owe some of their position to skills, education and enterprise, though here again the evidence is not conclusive.
