Fan Fu

My research focuses on the role of elites in inequality and poverty, with a specific emphasis on Chinese economic elites. Within this context, I explore three key dimensions, including class composition, social attitudes, and collective action.

Firstly, I study the social composition of elites. By combining rich lists and data from other courses, I worked with professors to build the Chinese Super Rich Persons (CSRP) database, a dataset of the richest Chinese entrepreneurs. One of our team’s works has been published in the British Journal of Sociology, in which we applied multiple correspondence analysis to empirically prove that the social spaces of China’s super-rich are derived exclusively from their political, cultural, and social capital. I am currently collaborating with teams from various countries to develop a multi-national super-rich database.

Secondly, I study people’s attitudes towards inequality, especially that of the elite. One of my ongoing projects investigates the relationships between social mobility and people’s perception of inequality.

Thirdly, I examine how economic elites respond in practical ways to inequality issues. One of my working papers shows that, by building a reciprocal relationship with the poor, which transcends the traditional divide between charitable and commercial activities, Chinese business elites are able to re-embed themselves into society.

Some of my past studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the British Journal of Sociology, Academic Monthly, and Jianghai Academic Journal.