A Comparative Study Of Social Quality Between Urban And Rural Areas

Drawing on data from the 2019 China Comprehensive Social Conditions Survey(CSS),this paper conducts research on four dimensions of the conditional factors of social quality theory-social and economic security,social cohesion,social inclusion,and social empowerment-to describe the current state of social quality in towns and villages.The study finds that there are differences in social quality between towns and villages,and the composite index of social quality in towns is higher than the composite index of social quality in villages.In the dimension of socioeconomic security,urban residents’ socioeconomic security is higher than that of rural residents.In terms of urban and rural employment,the employment rate of urban residents is lower than that of rural residents.The main reasons for urban residents not being employed are being in school and leaving/retired,while the main reason for rural residents not being employed is taking care of household chores.Urban residents are more satisfied than rural residents in terms of family economic situation and living condition,but in terms of social security access,urban residents are less satisfied than rural residents in terms of social security.In the social cohesion dimension,social cohesion in towns is lower than that in villages.In terms of social trust,the evaluation levels of interpersonal trust and trust in institutions of urban residents are lower than those of rural residents,and urban and rural residents have the highest level of trust in the central government and the lowest level of trust in insurance companies.In terms of social norms and values,rural residents have a higher level of compliance with social norms,and they are more likely to abide by them.However,when faced with a conflict between individual and social interests,urban residents have a higher sense of priority of social interests than rural residents,and when faced with the choice between formal and informal channels,urban residents have a higher normative orientation,and they are more likely to use formal channels to achieve their goals.In terms of the social inclusion dimension,social inclusion in towns is lower than social inclusion in villages.In terms of social tolerance,the most intolerant group of urban and rural residents is homosexuals,followed by the AIDS group.The overall level of social tolerance of rural residents is higher than that of urban residents.The evaluation of urban residents’ sense of social fairness and justice,satisfaction with government work and evaluation of society in general are lower than those of rural residents.In the dimension of social empowerment,the social empowerment in towns is higher than that in villages.In terms of the level of political participation in urban and rural areas,the level of political participation in towns is lower than that in villages,and the participation rate of village(neighborhood)committee elections is higher among rural residents than urban residents,while the participation rate of urban residents in voting for district and county people’s congress representatives is higher than that of rural residents.In terms of willingness to participate,rural residents have a higher willingness to participate next time than urban residents.In terms of social participation level in urban and rural areas,the level of social participation in urban areas is higher than that in rural areas.