| Based on market transition theory and segmented labor market theory, this dissertation has investigated the effects of China's market oriented reform on urban employment such as layoff, reemployment, job attainment methods and job rewards in the context of enterprises and cities. Using quantitative research methods, this study examined the effects of human capital and political capital on workers' employment and income and how these effects differ by types of enterprises and cities. It then examined the effects of institutional changes on the segmentation structure of the urban labor market.; This study has found that both human capital and political capital still play an important role in affecting employment in state/collective-owned enterprises. However, while human capital has strong effects on earnings in the urban labor market, the effects of political capital are declining. In addition, ownership, rank, and size of enterprises that used to affect workers' well-being do not affect workers' layoff and reemployment. But ownership still affects workers' income in the urban labor market at the time of the survey. The study also reveals that it is still too early to reach a conclusion about the labor market segmentation based on workers' urban/rural identity. Moreover, other types of segmentations based on "systematic discrimination" or "employer taste" on age and gender may exist in the urban labor market as well. |
