Empirical Analysis on Financial Development, Urbanization, and Urban and Rural Resident Income in Jiangsu Province

Abstract

On the basis of the time series data of Jiangsu Province in 1990-2013, this paper made an empirical analysis on the dynamic relation between financial development, urbanization, and urban and rural resident income, and income gap. Studies have shown that expansion of financial development scale and increase in financial development efficiency can promote increase in urban and rural resident income. However, due to existence of rural financial repression problem, the increase in financial efficiency widens the urban and rural income gap; the urbanization level of Jiangsu Province remains stable stage; the increase in urbanization level practically raises urban and rural resident income level. Since the traditional extensive growth mode of urbanization lacks concern for balanced urban and rural development, urbanization development widens the urban and rural income gap. In view of these, it came up with policy recommendations including deepening financial reform, expanding the scale of rural financial institutions, increasing rural financial efficiency, and attaching great importance to the quality of urbanization development.