五 篇章结构

本书导言除了介绍2009年八城市调查外,主要任务是论述本书的研究任务和理论框架。本书分“社会网络篇”和“求职过程篇”。

(一)社会网络篇

该篇包括五章,即第二至第六章,依次对“拜年网”“讨论网”“餐饮网”“求职网”作专门性讨论,依据统一的分析大纲,发掘每种具体的社会网络的理论含义和基本特征。数据分析分别从三个方面展开。一是分析每种具体的社会网络的社会人口特征差异,包括性别差异、年龄差异、受教育程度差异、党员身份差异。这些是社会分层流动研究的基础性变量,也是职业地位获得研究的基础性变量,所以我们选择这些变量作为社会网络个体差异的分析视角。

二是分析每个具体的社会网络的结构性差异,包括个人的经济社会地位、户口性质、工作部门、单位类型。经济社会地位是被访者的主观阶层认同,分五层:上层、中上层、中层、中下层、下层。五层划分参考了国内外的大量调查经验,与“中国综合社会调查”“东亚社会调查”“国际社会调查”的测量一致,以便比较研究。户口性质是指被访者的户口所在地为“本地城市”“外地城市”“农业户口”。工作部门是指被访者的当前“主要”职业的所在单位的所有制形式,分“国有”和“非国有”两种。事实上,这是根据单位类型变量重组而来的;我们在调查中设计了八种单位类型:党政机关、国有企业、国有事业、集体企业、个体经营、私营企业、外资合资、股份制企业。这些涵盖了当前所有的工作单位类型。

三是分析每个具体社会网络的地区差异。我们选择的八个城市都是大城市,除天津和上海外,都是省会城市,地区包括东北、华北、华东、中南、西北,也可以分为东部地区、中部地区、西部地区。由于只有八个城市点,又不是地区的代表性抽样,因此我们保持了城市作为独立的分析点,没有合并。所谓的地区差异,事实上是城市之间的差异。这对于我们的分析而言很重要。城市经济研究表明,城市是经济改革政策的实施、市场边界和生活指数区域、文化圈的划分的地域单位。所以,选择城市作为此次调查的基本抽样单位和分析比较单位,符合我们前述的本书理论框架和模型。

第六章讨论四种社会网络的异同以及相互之间的关联,从而对中国城市社会网络的建构过程做一个更详尽的描述和解释。为达到这一目标,并且与前述本书的理论框架相配合,我们选择的分析视角是费孝通先生的“差序格局”理论和受教育水平对网络建构的影响。前者基于传统文化的延续性,引出亲属关系在个人关系网络建构中所起到的作用这一问题。后者基于现代化研究、人力资本模型、先赋-自致模型,着重检验受教育水平对个人关系网络建构的影响。从四种社会网络看,春节拜年每年定期发生,对于个人和家庭而言,亲属关系的数量比较稳定,但非亲属关系是有选择性的。那么,人们的“拜年网”的大小与亲属比例之间是否有一定的联系?网络的规模和亲属比例的大小又如何受受教育水平的影响?“讨论网”和“餐饮网”是随时发生的、不断建构的网络,讨论和餐饮的对象同样有着较大的选择性。那么,随着网络规模的增大,非亲属比例是否也会增加?受教育程度对这二者又有着什么样的影响?最后,“求职网”的发生频率不高,但具有普遍性,因为很多人在参加工作和职业流动时都会遇到问题,请求关系帮忙。所以我们可以问:“求职网”的建构和使用从多大程度上受“拜年网”“讨论网”“餐饮网”的特征的影响?亲属关系和个人受教育程度又如何影响人们的“求职网”的建构?

(二)求职过程篇

包括五章,第七至第十一章,研究重点是探讨宏观经济结构变迁、微观层次的求职过程模式、社会网络的作用,以及宏观结构特征对微观求职过程的影响作用。

第七章的任务是综述我国从再分配经济向市场经济的转型,从而形成对宏观经济结构及其变迁的总体判断,划分经济体的时期。在此基础上,该章测量宏观结构的三大变量,即体制不确定程度、市场竞争程度、关系主义文化规范程度。限于资料,最后一个变量的测量调整为“劳动力管理的规范性”。该章进而以城市为观察分析单位对数据展开分析,为以后各章的微观分析,特别是第十章的宏观-微观多层次模型分析,做了必要的基础性工作。

第八章、第九章是求职过程和结果的微观分析。根据本书的理论框架,第八章的任务是论述结构特征模型,并对相关研究假设作统计检验。结构特征模型假定,求职者是一个独立决策的理性经济人。基于此假定,分析任务着眼于个体的人口特征、人力资本、政治资本、家庭背景、求职场域等方面的差异,并用这些差异解释求职过程和结果的差异。与结构特征模型不同,第九章的理论模型是社会网络模型。该模型假定求职者是一个嵌入关系中的理性社会人。基于此假设,测量任务着眼于个体的社会联系、求职是否有人帮忙、与帮忙人的关系强度、从帮忙人获得的关系资源、关系资源的效应如何等等。社会网络模型用个人社会关系的差异性解释求职成功与否的差异性。

求职的微观过程不是孤立进行的,而是在劳动力市场的大环境中展开的,也是在我国改革开放的大背景下发生的,正像本书的理论模型所指出的那样。这些环境和背景,一言以蔽之,称为宏观结构。社会学分析的根本要点不是宏观或微观本身,而是宏观因素和微观因素的相互作用和影响,特别是宏观结构特征对微观个体行为和态度的作用与影响。根据本书的理论模型,第十章给予了颇有成效的探索,用多层次模型初步证明,求职过程的关系作用空间是随着宏观结构的市场竞争程度、体制不确定程度和管理规范程度的变化而发生变化的。

以上分析的范围是受雇群体。八城市调查是代表性样本,我们随机获取了自雇者群体近600个样本。作为具有特定社会属性的一个群体,自雇者的产生以及自我雇用活动的展开都与市场具有更紧密的联系,他们的社会网络与经营过程和经营绩效是否存在影响?存在何种程度的影响?这些问题对于我们更深入地理解社会网络在经济生活和社会生活中的作用机制,无疑有着非常重要的意义。在第十一章,我们集中分析这个群体的社会网络特征及对创业经历的影响。对于自雇者,“求职”过程等于自雇和创业过程,我们把握三个环节:一是自雇过程中社会网络关系的嵌入,即资金筹集和生意来源对社会关系的依赖程度;二是创业第一步的经营成果;三是调查时点的经营成果。


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