Policy feedback in transitional China: The sectoral divide and electoral participation.

In studies of public reaction to policy initiatives, researchers often assume that universal social programs have the same effect on all social aggregates and are therefore conducive to social and political participation because of their comprehensive coverage, which suggests inclusive citizenship. However, structure-based differences in accessibility can distort these social programs into privileges for some and can reinforce existing inequalities. This study illustrates how social structure determines policy feedback in terms of political and civic participation in China. Using a nationally representative sample from 2005, we find that social insurance privileges public sector employees, encouraging them to be more active in political elections than in civic elections, whereas employees in the disadvantaged private sector emphasize civic elections over political elections. We argue that structural divisions in the social insurance regime serve the political purpose of maintaining state control in transitional China.

Wife beating in South Africa: an imbalance theory of resources and power.

This article develops an imbalance theory to explain physical violence against women in intimate relationships in South Africa. The theory proposes four typologies: dependence, compensation, submission, and transgression, through which imbalances in resource contribution and power distribution between spouses are hypothesized to contribute to violence. The dependence hypothesis suggests that economic dependence of the wife will lead to more violence. The compensation hypothesis argues that the husband will use force to compensate for his inability to live up to the male-provider norm. The submission hypothesis suggests that violence will increase due to the submission of women in male-dominated families. Finally, the transgression hypothesis argues that men in female-dominated families will use force to punish their wives for supposedly transgressing the gender norm of male dominance. Empirical evidence provided some support for the dependence, submission, and transgression hypotheses.