The Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion

In The Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion, Yujeong Yang investigates this question by examining locally divergent patterns of pension expansion in China. Drawing on interviews, surveys, and anecdotal evidence, Yang argues that the answer lies in local citizenship institutions and the ability of local governments to deny informal workers access to citizenship membership. Extending her insights beyond China, Yang offers a valuable framework for understanding the shifting dynamics of welfare politics in the context of growing labor informalization, the rise of the gig economy, and global migration.

Yujeong Yang is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and a Faculty Affiliate at the Center for East Asian & Pacific Studies. She earned her PhD in Political Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dr. Yang's research focuses on welfare and labor politics in China, as well as the political and social implications of China's global economic expansion. She teaches courses on Chinese politics, East Asian politics, authoritarian regimes, and globalization.