Based on a survey of 3000 households in 22 villages in industrialized and agricultural areas in China, this article discusses private egalitarian attitudes towards income distribution, support for the elderly, poverty relief and land distribution. The effects of employment, age, political affiliation and income differ substantially between the two regions. Data on contracted landholdings are used to demonstrate inter-village differentials in implementation of land distribution policies. Egalitarian distribution of farmland does not necessarily produce greater equality of total income.
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