Measuring and Explaining the Distributive Effects of Rural Tax and Fee Reform in Anhui Province

Abstract

This paper focuses on the distributive effects of the Rural Tax and Fee Reform on county-level aggregate peasant burden, peasant income, and government finances in China’s Anhui Province. It seeks to answer the question of whether the reform has changed the structural determinants of peasant per capita income and government revenue. It further tackles the question of who actually benefited during the reform period, who did not, and if the changes in average county-level peasant per capita income (PPCI) and government receipts were indeed results of the reform, or if they were brought about by other, unrelated factors.