The Scattered Accounts: Trading Dynamics and Community Formation Among Retail Investors (Sanhu) in China’s Stock Market
type: CreativeWork
description: The Chinese stock market is known for its volatility. Even after more than three decades of establishment, the Chinese stock market continues to be experimental, representing the socialist state’s attempt to explore a market economy that aligns with its governance. Commentators often attribute this instability to the market’s immaturity and susceptibility to further regulatory adjustments. A primary concern is the substantial presence of individual retail investors, who have been actively trading since the stock exchanges resumed in 1990 and now account for over 60% of the trading volume. There are more than 200 million registered individual trading accounts, with an estimated minimum of 20 million active traders, and new investors continue to join using their private savings. What motivates people to participate in the stock market? Who are these amateur traders, and how do they trade? This thesis presents an ethnography of the stock market and the people within it, exploring the complex dynamics of the Chinese stock market through the lens of amateur retail investors, known as ‘sanhu’ (散户). The study aims to provide an account of the lived experiences of sanhus within China’s unique political-economic system, particularly through the perspectives of a group often perceived as cynical and irrational. By examining the experiences and behaviours of modestly resourced individual investors, the thesis analyses the specific characteristics and ongoing evolution of China’s political and economic system, focusing on its impact on ordinary people’s lives and their adaptation to evolving circumstances while pursuing personal aspirations. This thesis conceptualises the stock market not only as a financial entity but also a social arena reflecting its participants’ financial, economic, and political beliefs. The thesis sees the lively, sometimes self-contradictory, yet often innovative trading practices of individuals as a form of qualitative calculation that prevails beyond …
abstract: The Chinese stock market is known for its volatility. Even after more than three decades of establishment, the Chinese stock market continues to be experimental, representing the socialist state’s attempt to explore a market economy that aligns with its governance. Commentators often attribute this instability to the market’s immaturity and susceptibility to further regulatory adjustments. A primary concern is the substantial presence of individual retail investors, who have been actively trading since the stock exchanges resumed in 1990 and now account for over 60% of the trading volume. There are more than 200 million registered individual trading accounts, with an estimated minimum of 20 million active traders, and new investors continue to join using their private savings. What motivates people to participate in the stock market? Who are these amateur traders, and how do they trade? This thesis presents an ethnography of the stock market and the people within it, exploring the complex dynamics of the Chinese stock market through the lens of amateur retail investors, known as ‘sanhu’ (散户). The study aims to provide an account of the lived experiences of sanhus within China’s unique political-economic system, particularly through the perspectives of a group often perceived as cynical and irrational. By examining the experiences and behaviours of modestly resourced individual investors, the thesis analyses the specific characteristics and ongoing evolution of China’s political and economic system, focusing on its impact on ordinary people’s lives and their adaptation to evolving circumstances while pursuing personal aspirations. This thesis conceptualises the stock market not only as a financial entity but also a social arena reflecting its participants’ financial, economic, and political beliefs. The thesis sees the lively, sometimes self-contradictory, yet often innovative trading practices of individuals as a form of qualitative calculation that prevails beyond …
author: Jin, Hairuo
keywords: China, economic anthropology, Retail trading, Stock Market
license: https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/77a6e902-55c6-4238-a48e-ba31e9bfcc3d/download
license: http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved
date published: 2024-11-22
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:17Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.119224