Four-County Study of Chinese Local Government and Political Economy, 1990

This survey focuses on the views and behaviors of the mass public in China with respect to economic and governmental factors at the local countryside level in the post-Mao era. The data were collected approximately eight months after the June 1989 conflict in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Face-to-face interviews were conducted in the household by advanced students from Beijing University. Major topics addressed include perceived seriousness of problems such as health care, pricing, public order, industrial development, economic well-being, consumer behavior, personal problems and how to overcome them, perceived local problems, views about leaders and important groups, political interest, media behavior, civic competence and political reform, and perceptions of injustice. Demographic variables include sex, age, ethnicity, education level, occupation, marital status, military service, household income, political party affiliation, age and number of children, and the number of people in the household.