Two Views of Recession's Impact on Young Chinese

I just came across these two excellent posts, explaining how the economic crisis has shaped the ways that young Chinese earn and spend money.

First, in terms of earning potential, the news is not pretty.

"Eat bitterness and endure hard labor"

Sometimes economists concentrate too heavily on the big picture. As always, macroeconomics is the summation of individual behaviour and experience.

The title of this blog post is a notice for those wanting a job. I suspect a few more Western employees should be as equally truthful when advertising employment opportunities.

He then goes on to excerpt an article from the Buffalo News that profiles one such Chinese jobseeker:

Xian Yuguo has a tattoo on his left arm with the Chinese character for wealth. But the 20-year-old was growing worried as he competed for a job with tens of millions of laborers in China's increasingly wobbly economy.

He had heard a tip about work at a toy factory in this industrial city. Time was running out.

"I've only got about 400 yuan" - $73 - "in my pocket, just enough to last me a week," he said, being bounced around in a crowded bus speeding down a southern China highway. "If I don't find something by then, I've got to go back home and just hang around my family's tangerine farm."

Click here to read the rest on China Economics Blog. (Hat tip to Dan Harris)

Second, in terms of spending limits, the news is much more encouraging.

This clip shares the story of a young Chinese white-collar worker who started the 100 RMB per week club, to make saving money fun.



I don't consider myself a big spender, but for me 100 RMB per day would be tight! That's about $15. However, it is feasible if you take the bus and subway, cook simple dinners with ingredients from the wet market, avoid expensive luxuries like coffee and cocktails, and, perhaps most importantly, hang out with people with similar financial discipline. (Hat tip to Rich Brubaker)