Retreat of the State: Marketization of Education in the Pearl River Delta

Since the death of Mao Zedong, Chinese leaders have taken significant steps to privatize social policy and social welfare. Experiments to revamp the social security system and commodify social services started in the mid-1980s. Even though post-Mao leaders feel uncomfortable with the term "privatization," the state has reduced its provision of social policy and social welfare. This article analyzes how a flourishing market economy has affected China’s educational development，with particular attention to "marketization" and "privatization" in the Pearl River Delta, where changes have led to the emergence of a new social policy paradigm.