Income Disparity In China Research Articles

The application of industrial robots and changes in capital-labour income disparity in China

The technological revolution, particularly the rise of industrial robots and artificial intelligence, has significantly impacted global economic growth and income disparity. This study examines the impact of industrial robot applications on the capital-labour income disparity in China, a country with the highest number of industrial robot applications and a commitment to reducing income inequality. The findings indicate that industrial robots intensify the income disparity between capital and labour, particularly in economically underdeveloped regions characterized by less sophisticated industrial structures, low levels of human capital, underdeveloped physical capital, and inadequate market economies. The promotion of industrial structure sophistication, enhancement of human capital levels, deepening of physical capital, and advancement of market development can mitigate the adverse impact of industrial robot applications on the income disparity between capital and labour. The study underscores the necessity of institutional reforms and targeted policies across these dimensions to address the negative impacts of new technologies.

Effect of Entrepreneurship on Urban-Rural Income Inequality in China

ABSTRACT Entrepreneurship is a two-edged sword, promoting economic mobility for some but potentially leading others into poverty. This research explores the effect of entrepreneurship on urban-rural income disparity in China, utilizing data collected in 265 Chinese cities from 2013 to 2019. Using a two-step System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) for dynamic panel data, we found that entrepreneurship consistently reduces income inequality across various income levels in different digitalization environments. The findings underscore the significance of entrepreneurship in narrowing the disparity in income between urban and rural areas. Policies would be adaptable to the challenges and opportunities in different locations, with the goal of creating a favorable climate for the growth of both urban and rural economies.

Study on Urban-Rural Income Inequality in China—Based on VAR Model

Wealth disparity is a complex issue that has plagued the world for many years. China’s economic development has achieved world-renowned results during the last 40 years. Over that time, the country has risen from extreme poverty to the world’s second-largest economy. Nevertheless, the significant wealth inequality accompanying it has also caused great concern. At the start of China’s reform and opening-up period, government officials tacitly approved of this uneven development and made plans to “drive the rich first to the rich later” in pursuit of economic development. Economic development aims to achieve shared prosperity, not to deprive the relatively poor of wealth. As a result, wealth disparity in China must be addressed. Based on the Kuznets hypothesis, the theory of urban-rural dual structure, and the current situation in China, this paper has evaluated the current wealth gap in China. Since 1978, Chinese households’ wealth accumulation has come from the income gap. Private property was not allowed to exist during China’s planned economy period (1949-1977). After the reform and opening up period (After 1978), income disparities between various industrial sectors led to an initial round of wealth accumulation for many Chinese citizens. The industrialisation process and urbanisation rate significantly impacted China’s economic modernisation and growth. Therefore, this paper has analysed the effects of several factors on income disparity in China. The examined factors were; economic development, the urbanisation rate, and the industrialisation process. Based on the theoretical analysis, this paper selected time series data from 1978 to 2021, including; per capita GDP, the per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents, the urban population to total population ratio, and industry contribution to the GDP. First, an analysis of the impact of economic development on income inequality was conducted using a static model. Then, a VAR model was built through ADF and PP testing, and an impulse response and variance analysis were conducted to explain the impact of various factors on the change rate of income inequality. The study results indicated that (1) Economic development has resulted in a significant increase in the income of urban and rural residents. However, urban residents have benefited more. Simultaneously, the income gap between urban and rural areas has grown significantly alongside economic expansion. (2) Urbanisation showed little effect on the income gap in the short term; however, it increased it in the long term. (3) Industrialisation reduced the short- and long-term income gap while increasing urbanisation.

Influential Determinants of Income Disparity in China: An Examination Using Panel Data

Over the past few decades, the world has witnessed the economic miracle that China has achieved, but it is also worried about its rapidly increasing level of income inequality. This paper uses a panel data regression model to assess to what extent urbanization, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), inflation, and education affect income inequality in China, using data from 25 Chinese provinces from 1995-2010. This study demonstrates that in China, the link between income inequality and urbanization aligns with the Kuznets inverted-U curve hypothesis. Meanwhile, FDI and education correlate positively with income inequality, while inflation and income inequality correlate negatively. The finding of this study argues that the policymaker in China should moderate urbanization to a certain extent, direct FDI flows to sectors that better benefit society as a whole, limit the rich's access to additional educational resources through their wealth, and use moderate expansionary monetary policy, thereby reducing income inequality while ensuring sustained economic growth.

The Impact of Household Registration Restrictions and the Integration Reform on Urban-Rural Disposable Income Disparity in China

This thesis studies the effects of the restrictions on the agriculture and non-agriculture household registration system often called urban and rural hukou, and its abolition on the disposable income disparity between urban and rural areas in China. This thesis uses the difference between the non-agriculture hukou and urbanization rates to measure the hukou limitation and its impact on income disparity in urban and rural areas. As for the integration reform, the study uses a dummy variable about before and after the integration reform and a dummy variable with additional regression specification of year to estimate the impact of such dichotomy on the income gap among Eastern, Western, and Central China. The results suggest that the stronger the hukou limitation, the more significant the income inequality between urban and rural areas, but the results are not valid in Eastern developed regions. The dual-track system has a more substantial impact on increasing the income gap in economically underdeveloped Western China. However, the thesis suggests that the integration reform cannot significantly diminish the income disparity between cities and the countryside. To see the complete thesis, please visit https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/d217qq90r.

Research on the Impact of Sustainable Urbanization on Urban Rural Income Disparity in China

There is a large gap between China’s urban and rural income. The urban rural income disparity (URID) is particularly prominent. This paper deeply studies the interaction between sustainable urbanization (SU) and the URID in China by taking the construction of a new urbanization plan with Chinese characteristics suggested in China’s 14th Five-Year Plan as the research background. Firstly, the paper puts forward the hypothesis of an inverted U-shape between SU and the URID through impact path analysis. Secondly, a nonlinear panel regression model (NPRM) and a threshold regression model (TRM) are constructed to test the hypothesis. Research findings: (1) The NPRM shows that the quadratic coefficient is significant and negative, so the assumption is true, and an inverted U-shaped relationship exists. (2) The result of the TRM shows that SU passes the single threshold test, and the hypothesis of a U-shaped relationship is tenable. (3) Economic development has narrowed the URID; economic openness and road network construction have increased the URID; education has no significant impact on the URID.

How Digital Financial Inclusion Affects Industry Income Disparities

With the continuous improvement of productivity, people's living standards have continued to rise, but the problem of income disparity has become increasingly serious. This article focuses on the income disparities in China's industry and study the impact of digital financial inclusion on the it. The income disparities between employees in 29 provinces in the China Statistical Yearbook was used for analysis, and the parameters were estimated by benchmark regression analysis. Based on the results of the study, it was found that digital financial inclusion had a large impact on the five decentralized industries selected. In view of these results, this paper analyzes the reasons and draws the reasons why digital finance has contributed to the reduction of the income gap in the industry.

Can information and communication technologies boost rural households’ income and narrow the rural income disparity in China?

Using panel data from National Rural Fixed Point Survey and a supplementary survey about rural ICT projects, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of ICTs on rural households’ income and income disparity in China. The results show that ICTs promotes the growth of total income and wage income of rural households, and has an inhibitory effect on agricultural income, but this inhibitory effect gradually disappears in the process of rural ICT development. The positive effect of ICTs on rural households’ total income is enduring. The heterogeneous analysis further indicates that the income-increasing effect of ICTs is more pronounced for higher-income and higher-educated farmers, which exacerbates the income disparity in rural areas.

Convergence effect of the Belt and Road Initiative on income disparity: evidence from China

The international economic effects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have received much attention, but few studies have focused on the impact of the BRI on domestic regional income disparities. Here, a theoretical framework is proposed based on the logic of public policy analysis in economic geography aiming at studying the impact of the BRI on the convergence of inter-city income disparities in China. Specifically, taking the BRI as a quasi-natural experiment, the impact of the BRI on the convergence of inter-city income disparities in 26 provinces of China is studied empirically using the difference-in-differences method. We find that the BRI has indeed contributed to the convergence of regional income disparities, and this convergence effect is continuously dynamic in its nature. The effects of trade opening and industrial structure transformation are the paths through which the BRI contributes to the convergence of income disparities. Furthermore, we find that there is significant heterogeneity in the effects of the BRI on the convergence of income disparities among cities in different provinces in China. The convergence effect of the BRI on the income disparities among cities in East China is small and insignificant, whereas it can significantly reduce the income disparities among cities in Central and West China. The research in this article has important application value for exploration of the regional income distribution effect of the BRI.

The interaction effect of tourism and foreign direct investment on urban–rural income disparity in China: a comparison between autonomous regions and other provinces

ABSTRACTConsidering the prevalence of income distribution between urban and rural areas especially in autonomous regions with specific ethnic features and relatively inferior economic conditions, and the probable role of tourism and FDI in reducing urban–rural income disparity, it is academically and practically critical to examine a combined role of tourism and FDI on urban–rural income disparity in autonomous regions in comparison with those effects in other provinces. Thus, this study aims to compare the interaction effect of tourism and FDI on alleviating urban–rural income disparity in autonomous regions with other provinces in China. This study used fixed effects regression models, employing 423 province-year observations composed of 30 provinces including five autonomous regions from 1993 to 2014. To accomplish research purposes, this study employs tourism income, FDI, and autonomous region dummy as main independent variables. And, the ratio of urban to rural consumption expenditures is included as a dependent variable. The result of this study shows that the interaction effect between tourism and FDI on reducing urban–rural income disparity in autonomous regions is significantly greater than other provinces. Based on this result, autonomous regions can optimize the effect of tourism on mitigating urban–rural income disparity through the adequate utilization of FDI.

중국 소수민족자치구에서 외국인직접투자가 도시-농촌 소득불균형에 미치는 효과

중국 소수민족자치구에서 외국인직접투자가 도시-농촌 소득불균형에 미치는 효과

Impact of high-speed railroad on regional income inequalities in China and Korea

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of opening high-speed railroad (HSR) on the regional income inequality in China and Korea. The convergence models are applied to test the effect of the HSR on regional growth in terms of GRDP per capita across 455 cities and counties along the Beijing–Shanghai HSR corridor and 112 cities and counties along the Seoul–Busan HSR corridor, respectively. The results indicate that at the national level, a trend of convergence emerges during the three-year period of analysis in both China and Korea. At the HSR passing area level, HSR contributes to accelerate regional economic convergence and reduce the regional income disparities in China and Korea; however, HSR has different impacts on reducing the regional income inequality in China and Korea considering the HSR station cities. In Korea, the regional inequality is rather wider among the cities where HSR station located.

Effects of regional development policies on the resolution of income disparity in China

Using thirty provincial panel-data from 1949 to 2010 that is separated into four periods, this paper examines the details of major regional development policies in practice by China so far since its foundation, and focuses on the analysis of how those policies influenced the resolution of inequality between regions through Gini coefficient analysis, coefficient of variation analysis and Theil index analysis. The results of income inequality analysis in Mao’s time show that income inequality coefficients are ups and downs. In the age of the reform and open-door policy, the income disparity in the eastern region drastically decreased, which in turn reduced the national income disparity among regions. However, from the 1990s the income convergences among regions in eastern coastal areas began to cease, which resulted in spreading income disparity among the regions all over China. Even though coefficients of income inequality indices have decreased since the mid-2000s, it may take more observation to decide whether such phenomenon is the result of the policy of 'building of a harmonious society' pursued by Hu Jintao.

China wage inequality: the role of trade and technology

This article empirically investigates the impact of international trade and technical change on skill premia for a panel of 28 manufacturing sectors in China over the period 2002–2011. The results find that the effect of changes of the share of SOEs is twofold. First, the contraction of SOEs promoted productivity growth, and the promoting effect was skill-biased, which tended to increase the skill premia in China. Second, the drop of product prices resulting from falling SOEs share was more magnificent in skill-intensive industries, which helped to mitigate wage inequality through product prices. The accounted-for portion of price changes by productivity growth was skill-biased, significantly raising skill premia through product prices. However, the portion of price changes accounted for by foreign price was unskill-biased, and world price competition diminished the growing income disparity in China.

Chinese Gini Coefficient from 2005 to 2012, Based on 20 Grouped Income Data Sets of Urban and Rural Residents

Data insufficiency has become the primary factor affecting research on income disparity in China. To resolve this issue, this paper explores Chinese income distribution and income inequality using distribution functions. First, it examines 20 sets of grouped data on family income between 2005 and 2012 by theChina Yearbook of Household Surveys, 2013,and compares the fitting effects of eight distribution functions. The results show that the generalized beta distribution of the second kind has a high fitting to the income distribution of urban and rural residents in China. Next, these results are used to calculate the Chinese Gini ratio, which is then compared with the findings of relevant studies. Finally, this paper discusses the influence of urbanization on income inequality in China and suggests that accelerating urbanization can play an important role in narrowing the income gap of Chinese residents.

The Legitimation of Inequality

Why people of lower socioeconomic status often support conservative economic policies has been one of the most intriguing puzzles for sociologists. This study tackles this paradox and presents a social psychological explanation that considers the effect of two kinds of psychosocial dispositions—authoritarianism and social dominance orientation—on attitudes toward economic inequality. Using two nationally representative Chinese social surveys and using structural equation modeling for empirical analysis, this article demonstrates that stark rural–urban income disparity in China resulted in large regional–educational inequality and that lower educational levels in disadvantaged areas led to residents’ conservative psychosocial dispositions. This article sheds light on a previously neglected social psychological mechanism of political attitude formation and shows how such a mechanism is embedded in macro-institutional contexts.

Progress and challenges of the rural cooperative medical scheme in China.

During China's transition to a market economy in the 1980s and 1990s, the rural population faced substantial barriers to accessing health care and encountered heavier financial burdens than urban residents in paying for necessary health services. In 2003, China started to implement a rural cooperative medical scheme (RCMS), mainly through government subsidies. The scheme operates at the county level and offers a modest benefit package. In spite of rapid economic growth since the early 1980s, income disparities in China have increased, particularly between rural and urban populations. In response, the government has put greater emphasis on social development, including health system development. Examples are the prioritization of improved access to health services and the reduction of the burden of payment for necessary services. After 10 years of implementation, the RCMS now provides coverage to the entire rural population and has substantially improved access to health care. Yet despite a drop in out-of-pocket payments as a proportion of total health expenditure, paying for necessary services continues to cause financial hardship for many rural residents. In its first decade, the RCMS made progress through political mobilization, government subsidies, the readiness of the health-care delivery system, and the availability of a monitoring and evaluation system. Further improving the RCMS will require a focus on cost containment, quality improvement and making the scheme portable.

Assessing the spatial and temporal differences in the impacts of factor allocation and urbanization on urban–rural income disparity in China, 2004–2010

Drawing on a cross-provincial panel dataset from 2004 to 2010, and grounded in urban-bias theory, this study analyzes the extent to which China's urban–rural income disparity is determined by factor allocation and urbanization. It empirically tests whether such associations vary between provinces and change over time by considering the presence of spatial dependence and heterogeneity. The results of panel data regression first indicate that differences in factor allocation are major contributors to the enlargement of urban–rural income disparity, and urbanization narrows this income gap. Nonetheless, spatial and temporal differences in such impacts are observed using a geographically weighted regression technique. Educational resource allocation only exerts an effect in many eastern and central provinces, with its influence increasing during the period, whereas the impact of capital allocation is obvious in most western provinces and remains relatively stable. In addition, government spending allocation is increasingly effective in most central and western provinces, yet the influence of financial resource allocation is weakening. Finally, urbanization has an enduring impact on all provinces. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.

Reducing Inequality: Taking from the top to distribute at the bottom

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)- Gan Li,(1) ... (Reducing income disparity), Caijing, 6 January 2013.- Zhu Guozhong,(2) ... (The 'second distribution' struggles to deliver), Caijing, 6 January 2013.- Chen Tao,(3) ... (What will influence the future incomes of the Chinese?), Nanfangzhoumo, 3 January 2013.- Feng Lei and Qiu Yue,(4) ... (The four mistakes of the in income distribution), Guangming ribao, 28 January 2013.- Editorial, ... (Getting away from the concept of redistribution to look at the of redistribution), Diyi caijing ribao, 19 December 2012.In the words of Chen Tao, 2012 was a watershed year during which the political and public spotlight turned from concerns about GDP and growth to focus more on the redistribution of wealth. Articles by Chinese researchers, journalists, and academics have also broadly addressed the twin subjects of sustainable growth and quality of development. The question of fair income holds an important place in all of them. Discus- sion of this matter has been given a new lease of life by the publication of the first official Gini index since 2008, which, according to the National Bu- reau of Statistics (NBS), dropped from 0.49 in 2008 to 0.47 in 2012, and through the launch of a reform plan for income distribution (shouru fenpei gaige fang'an ... put before the National People's Congress in March.The writers recognise the extent of efforts carried out by the government, and note the importance, symbolically at least, of the measures announced in the redistribution plan. They all confirm that it was high time for the gov- ernment to tackle the issue of inequality, as strong growth without equi- table redistribution will be increasingly difficult to justify in the future, and potentially fraught with social risks.However, a number of criticisms have quickly appeared: Beijing's figures are said to be unrealistic, as is the proposed programme itself. What is the reality of social, economic, and territorial inequality in China? What does the action plan provide for, and if it is inadequate, what are its weak- nesses?The scope and details of income disparity in ChinaThere is little data available for measuring income disparity in China, and even when it does exist it is not always consistent. In this context, the Gini coefficient (ji'nixishu ...) is doubtless the least bad tool for com- prehending these inequalities. According to the latest official figures (from the NBS), in China, the Gini coefficient stood at 0.474(5)in 2012. Despite being high - the world average is 0.44 - this result is contradicted by several sources. Indeed, in 2010, the UN published its own calculation of the Chi- nese index and obtained a ratio of around 0.52.That same year, the Survey and Research Centre for Household Finance in Southwest China, headed by Gan Li, also published a study on the subject, the Chinese Households Financial Survey (cHFS). According to this report, the country's Gini coefficient was probably closer to 0.61. This body broke the ratio down into 0.56 for urban households and 0.60 for rural households. It also appears from this study that the main source of income inequality in China is disparity in salaries. In urban areas, 53% of income inequality comes from differences in salary; in the countryside the Gini index is made up of 33% for the industrial sector and 22% for agriculture. The CHFS also shows that the more a region is developed and its economy liberalised, the more marked the gaps are. The study showed the 2010 Gini coefficient to be 0.59 in the east of the country, 0.57 in the centre, and 0.55 in the west.Gan Li is very sceptical about whether disparities decreased in China be- tween 2010 and 2012, and hence about the proportions referred to in these two studies. Gan Li speculates that these divergences stem in particular from the fact that over the past ten years, the NBS figures have only taken rural households into account. …

REGIONAL INCOME DISPARITY IN CHINA USING VALUE‐ADDED DATA: DECOMPOSITION AND DISTRIBUTION DYNAMICS

AbstractUsing value‐added data, we examine regional income disparity in China's provinces during the period 1987–2008. We decompose the Gross Regional Product (GRP) of China's provinces into four value‐added components: compensation of employees, operating surplus, depreciation of fixed assets, and net tax on production. We measure income disparity by the coefficient of variation (CV) and measure the contribution of these four components to disparity in GRP. The disparity in operating surplus and net tax on production shows decreasing tendencies, while the disparity in compensation of employees and depreciation of fixed assets increases. The CV for all components is thus almost identical. In addition, compensation of employees contributes increasingly to disparity in GRP and replaces the operating surplus as the primary source of income disparity among China's provinces. These results have arisen through improvements among low‐income, predominantly rural, workers, and higher‐income workers employed by direct foreign investors or business owners.