By using qualitative data collected in three representative Chinese cities and quantitative
data from a countrywide survey, in this study, we synthesized the conventionally
competing arguments from the state-centred and market-centred approaches. We
showed the flow of elite resources, such as education, party membership, and family
background, among three groups of job seekers—namely, job-assignment adherents,
job-assignment networkers, and market adventurers, over time and across regions. With
a focus on job seekers’ responses to the varying local employment, we showed strong
evidence for the co-existence of state power and the market in China’s transitional
context.
