Surveys and Data Sets

The China Household Ethnicity Survey (CHES) looks at the economic behaviour of China’s ethnic majority and minority populations. It uses a stratified random sampling method to obtain data points that look at household wages, educational outcomes, labour force mobility, social security and subjective well-being indicators. The CHES 2011 data set includes 10,516 urban and rural households, encompassing 41,733 individuals; further, it covers six of the eight regions (e.g. Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Guangxi, Guizhou and Hunan) where the majority of China’s ethnic minority populations are located (see coverage map). 

Publications

1.  Gustafsson, B., Hasmath, R. and Ding, S., eds. (2021) Ethnicity and Inequality in China. New York and Oxford: Routledge. [ISBN: 9780367497033 (hardback); 9780367534868 (paperback)]

• Chapter (w/B. Gustafsson and S. Ding): “Ethnicity and Inequality in China: An Introduction”, pp. 1-24.

• Chapter (w/A. MacDonald): “Discrimination in Ethnic Minority Earnings? Evidence from Urban China”, pp. 216-232.

• Chinese Version (中文翻译): 中国少数民族的差异性研究 (社会科学文献出版社). 

• Reviewed in The China Journal 88: 191-192.

2.  MacDonald, A. and Hasmath, R. (2019) “Outsider Ethnic Minorities and Wage Determination in China”, International Labour Review 158(3): 489-508. 

• French Version (Traduction Française): “Minorités Ethniques en Marge et Détermination du Salaire en Chine”.

• Spanish Version (Traducción Castellano): “Minorías Étnicas Foráneas y Determinación Salarial en China”.

• Data Files:  Data Set and Replication Code

3.  Hasmath, R. and MacDonald, A. (2018) “Beyond Special Privileges: The Discretionary Treatment of Ethnic Minorities in China’s Welfare System”, Journal of Social Policy 47(2): 295-316.

• Data Files:  Data Set and Replication Code

The Chinese Citizens Expectations of the State Survey (CCESS) looks at individuals' ideological beliefs and attitudes pertaining to the state's role in the economy, and economic governance more broadly. The survey utilizes a seven-point Likert scale to measure the strength of respondents’ agreement and disagreement with queries relating to state ownership, market regulation, competition policy, industrial policy, public goods management and environmental protection.

CCESS 2016 was conducted using a random digit dialing telephone survey that ran from late 2015 to early 2016. Urban residents (ages 21 and above) were targeted in six cities corresponding to varying levels of socio-economic development: Beijing and Shanghai (tier-one); Chengdu, Hefei, Hohhot and Wuhan (tier-two). The N-size of the survey was 1,000 respondents, with a sampling scale of 131,291 individuals, involving 68,162 telephone numbers (see basic demographic information). 

CCESS 2019 is an online nation-wide, urban survey (N = 1,500) fielded in July 2019 (see coverage distribution). Quotas for both age and education were employed to ensure the urban sample was not skewed for younger ages and/or the highly educated. 

Publications

1.  Hasmath, R. (2023) “Citizens’ Support for Economic Governance Approaches in Contemporary China”, Global Public Policy and Governance 3: 249-267.  [audio paper:  video and podcast]

• Chinese Version (中文翻译): “当代中国公民对经济治理方法的支持”.

2.  Eaton, S. and Hasmath, R. (2021) “Economic Legitimation in a New Era: Public Attitudes About State Ownership and Market Regulation”, The China Quarterly 246: 447-472.  [audio paper:  video and podcast]

• Chinese Version (中文翻译): “新时代的经济合法化：民众对国家所有制和市场监管的态度”.

3.  MacDonald, A. and Hasmath, R. (2020) “How Citizens Order Their Political Mind: Contemporary Ideology in China”, Paper Presented at Southern Political Science Association Annual Conference (San Juan, Puerto Rico), January 9-11.

4.  MacDonald, A. and Hasmath, R. (2018) “Does Ideology Matter for the Citizenry in China? Public Attitudes and Preferences for Economic Policies”, Paper Presented at Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference (Chicago, USA), April 5-8.

The Policy Innovation in China Survey (PICS) examines local government officials' feelings of personal efficacy and risk tolerance when it comes to policymaking.  It also includes questions about orientation towards authority, the importance of cognition or learning from societal or other forms of feedback, and which factors help or hinder policy innovation. Between 2016 and 2018, over 900 local government officials were surveyed. Participants were drawn from eight different provinces, including Shangdong (35%), Guangdong (20%), Hebei (15%), and the remaining five provinces (Anhui, Gansu, Hubei, Yunnan, and Zhejiang) account for between 5-10% of the total sample respectively. 

Publications

1.  Hasmath, R. (2025) “The Authoritarian Consultative Policymaker”, Working Paper.

2.  Lewis, O., Teets, J. and Hasmath, R. (2022) “Exploring Political Personalities: The Micro-Foundations of Local Policy Innovation in China”, Governance 35(1): 103-122.  [audio paper:  video and podcast]

• Chinese Version (中文翻译): “探索政治人格：中国地方性政策创新的微观基础”.

• Data Files:  Data Set and Replication Code

3.  Teets, J. and Hasmath, R. (2020) “The Evolution of Policy Experimentation in China”, Journal of Asian Public Policy 13(1): 49-59.  [audio paper:  video and podcast]

• Winner of the Journal of Asian Public Policy Best Paper Prize.

4.  Hasmath, R., Teets, J. and Lewis, O. (2019) “The Innovative Personality? Policymaking and Experimentation in an Authoritarian Bureaucracy”, Public Administration and Development 39(3): 154-162.  [audio paper:  video and podcast]

5.  Teets, J., Hasmath, R. and Lewis, O. (2017) “The Incentive to Innovate? The Behavior of Policymakers in China”, Journal of Chinese Political Science 22(4): 505-517.  [audio paper:  video and podcast]

The Civic Participation in China Survey (CPCS) is an online survey of urban residents looking at individual philanthropic and volunteering behaviour, and perceptions of civic engagement. CPCS 2018 data was collected in October 2018 (N = 1,402), CPCS 2020 data was collected between December 2019 and February 2020 (N = 4,999), CPCS 2022 data was collected between December 2021 and February 2022 (N = 5,003), and CPCS 2024 data was collected between December 2023 and March 2024 (N = 5,012).

The survey included a total of 40 questions and involved both multiple choice and ranking questions. Individual demographic information gathered by the survey included: age, gender, number of children, city, and Communist Party membership. Socio-economic information collected included: level of education, occupation and individual/household income. 

For more details, see the CPCS website here. 

Publications

1.  Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T., Hsu, C., Hsu, J. and Teets, J. (2025) “The Civic Participation in China Survey: Key Trends in Philanthropic and Voluntary Activities”, Journal of Contemporary East Asia Studies.

2.  Hildebrandt, T., Hasmath, R., Hsu, J., Teets, J. and Hsu, C. (2024) “What Makes a ‘Bad Citizen’? Understanding Non-Participation in Philanthropic and Voluntaristic Activities in China”, Paper Presented at International Society for Third Sector Research International Conference (Antwerp, Belgium), July 16-19.

3.  Hsu, J., Hsu, C., Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T. and Teets, J. (2023) “Creating a Culture of Philanthropy and Volunteerism in Contemporary China”, Paper Presented at Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting (Boston, USA), March 16-19.

4.  Hsu, C., Teets, J., Hasmath, R., Hsu, J. and Hildebrandt, T. (2022) “The Construction and Performance of Citizenship in Contemporary China”, Journal of Contemporary China 31(138): 827-843.  [audio paper:  video and podcast]

• Chinese Version (中文翻译): “当代中国公民身份建构与表现”.

5.  Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T., Teets, J., Hsu, J. and Hsu, C. (2022) “Citizens’ Expectations for Crisis Management and the Involvement of Civil Society Organizations in China”, Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 51(2): 292-312.  [audio paper:  video and podcast]

• Chinese Version (中文翻译): “中国公民对危机管理的期望和民间社会组织的参与情况”.

6.  Teets, J., Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T., Hsu, C. and Hsu, J. (2022) “Volunteerism and Democratic Learning in an Authoritarian State: The Case of China”, Democratization 29(5): 879-898.  [audio paper:  video and podcast]

• Chinese Version (中文翻译): “权威主义国家的志愿服务和民主学习: 以中国为例”.