Income inequality is a bottleneck constraining China's sustainable development. The development of the digital economy generates new opportunities to narrow this gap and change the urban-rural dichotomy. Using provincial panel data in China from 2011 to 2020, this study examines the effect of digital economic development on urban–rural income inequality and investigates the moderating and threshold roles of new urbanization. High-dimensional fixed-effects estimates indicate that the digital economy significantly reduces urban-rural income inequality. However, both interaction and threshold regressions reveal pronounced stage dependence: as the level of new-type urbanization rises, the marginal inequality-reducing effect of the digital economy weakens, and the convergence effect is stronger in regions with lower urbanization levels. Regional heterogeneity analysis further shows that this gap-narrowing impact is pervasive nationwide but substantially larger in less developed western regions, suggesting a "latecomer advantage" in capturing digital dividends. Mechanism analysis based on income composition indicates that the digital economy promotes convergence primarily by raising rural wage income and improving the transfer-income structure, while its effects on operating and property income display divergent patterns. Overall, the findings highlight the conditional and structural nature of digital dividends and imply that policies should coordinate digital development with new-type urbanization to enhance rural digital infrastructure, digital skills, and equal access to public services.

This study quantitatively investigates the relationship between tourism resource development and urban-rural income inequality in China from 2005 to 2022. While tourism is frequently promoted as a strategic tool for regional development and poverty alleviation, its distributional effects remain ambiguous. Diverging from studies that rely on demand-side metrics like visitor arrivals, this research utilizes panel data from Chinese provinces to distinguish between the endowment of tourism resources (rated scenic spots) and economic flows. We specifically examine the impact of resource quality by differentiating between high-grade (A4-A5) and low-grade (A1-A3) scenic areas. Contrary to the pro-poor tourism hypothesis which posits tourism as an equalizer, our empirical results utilizing two-way fixed effects and instrumental variable strategies indicate that the aggregate quantity of tourism resources exerts a statistically significant positive effect on the urban-rural income gap. Specifically, tourism development behaves as a mechanism of "disequalizing growth," raising overall income levels but disproportionately benefiting urban centers over rural peripheries. Furthermore, we identify significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity: the inequality-widening effect is most pronounced in the economically developed Eastern region and intensified significantly following the 2008 global financial crisis. These findings suggest that without targeted redistributive policies and supply-chain linkages, the mere development of tourism infrastructure—particularly capital-intensive high-grade sites—may exacerbate rather than alleviate the urban-rural divide.

This research investigates the influence of digitalization on urban-rural income inequality at the city level between 2013 and 2019. The study employs the system generalized moment method (GMM) to analyze the panel data. The digitalization index is constructed based on six dimensions, while the average nighttime light brightness of a region is utilized as a proxy for measuring regional income disparity. The study’s findings offer evidence for the beneficial effects of digitalization in mitigating urban-rural economic disparity, with the impact differing among cities with various income levels. In addition to digitalization initiatives, fiscal transparency is also crucial in providing support to reduce inequality.

Divergent Paths: Unpacking the role of skill-biased and routine-biased technological change on urban income inequality in China

As COVID sweeps through the global economy, it has a negative impact on almost any country in the entire world. Although the direction of public opinion is that the impact is bad, the research intends to prove its truth through statistical methods. Is the gap between rich and poor in China really getting bigger because of COVID? Will people's income become more unequal as a result? By calculating the Gini coefficients and counting their trends, the research found that China's income equality has actually improved in the short term. This conclusion is based on a detailed analysis of income data from 31 provincial-level administrative regions across several years, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of regional income patterns. The research not only evaluates numerical trends but also considers relevant social and economic factors that might have contributed to these changes. While most assume that crises like COVID-19 intensify inequality, this study finds that, under certain conditions, temporary improvements in income equality can emerge, possibly due to emergency policies or economic adjustments.

Reducing urban–rural income inequality is a central objective of sustainable development and a critical challenge for inclusive growth in emerging economies. This study examines the impact of the digital economy on urban–rural income inequality in China. Using panel data across 279 cities in China and Chinese Household Income Project (CHIP) data, we find that the digital economy significantly widens urban–rural income inequality. Specifically, digital industries and innovations are the main drivers, contrasting with inclusive infrastructure. Although we observe a positive association between the digital economy and educational attainment among rural residents, such improvements do not appear to be fully translated into higher income. One possible explanation is that the digital economy is more effective in alleviating skill mismatch among urban residents than among their rural counterparts. Finally, our results suggest that Public Employment Services may help mitigate this negative effect through channels such as fiscal subsidies and improving skills training accessibility. Our findings highlight the need for caution regarding the inequality implications of digital economy development in emerging economies and underscore the crucial role of institutional arrangements in promoting socially sustainable and inclusive development.

Abstract In developing economies, rural income inequality remains a persistent and pressing challenge, this study identifies grain processing clusters as a pivotal factor for mitigating disparities. Based on the National Fixed Point Survey (NFP) from 2004 to 2017, we constructed an unbalanced panel dataset covering 2300 counties. Using the National Economic Industry Classification Code, we identified information on rough and deep grain processing enterprises in the China Academy for Rural Development-Qiyan China Agri-research Database (CCAD), thereby generating a unique dataset for grain processing clusters. Employing a two-way fixed effects model, we empirically analyze how grain processing clusters affect rural income inequality in China and explore the underlying mechanisms. The baseline regression results indicate heterogeneity in the impact of grain processing clusters on income inequality. Deep processing clusters significantly reduce both farm and non-farm income inequality, whereas rough processing clusters have a significant effect only on non-farm income inequality. Mechanism analysis reveals that grain processing clusters primarily enhance the income of low-income households through three channels: providing inclusive employment opportunities, accelerating the deepening of capital, and increasing grain revenues, thereby reducing the extent of inequality. Heterogeneity analysis further demonstrates that this effect is more pronounced in China’s major grain-producing regions and central areas. The research results of this paper comprehensively analyze the effective path to reduce income inequality in rural China while ensuring food security, providing valuable insights for policymakers.

The other side of the China syndrome: Export opportunities and gender income inequality in China

We investigate the effect of population ageing on income inequality in China, with particular attention to the role of public pension systems. We find that the size and distribution of pensions matter in understanding how ageing affects inequality. When using disposable income as the income indicator, the impact of population ageing on income inequality is found to be minimal. However, when pre-pension income is analysed, population ageing exacerbates income inequality, accounting for around 17% of the rise in income inequality from 2002 to 2018. Therefore, the current pension system counterbalances the negative impact of population ageing on income inequality. This is mainly because pensions raise the average income of the elderly and reduce inequality within this group, particularly in urban areas. Nevertheless, due to the substantial disparity in pension benefits between different pension schemes, there exists a significant gap in pension income between urban and rural areas. This gap leads to a more pronounced urban–rural income inequality among the elderly after they receive pensions.

Who you are versus where you are: Revealing the importance of determinants of within-city income inequality in China through an interpretable machine learning approach

ABSTRACT We use nationally representative survey data to study income inequality in China from 1988 to 2018. Our findings show that the rising income inequality during this period has been driven by the considerable income growth experienced by the highest earners, rather than stagnation or decline in the incomes of those at the bottom. Even individuals at the very bottom of the income distribution have experienced remarkable absolute real income growth. We further show that the increase in top incomes was largely due to labour income, and government redistribution had only a minor effect in mitigating the worsening of income inequality.

ABSTRACT Agricultural digitalization is indispensable for advancing China's agricultural modernization, while it has also caused job displacement and income differentiation in rural labor markets. However, its impact on income inequality and the underlying mechanisms remain under‐explored. Using survey data from 1239 villages across 264 counties in 29 Chinese provinces and cities, this study conducts an empirical test. Based on RIF regression (to address flaws in traditional income inequality modeling), it estimates the effect of agricultural digitalization on rural household income inequality. Results show: (1) Agricultural digitalization significantly boosts income, with a stronger effect on low‐income groups, thereby narrowing income inequality among rural households. (2) Mechanism analysis reveals that it stimulates employment and entrepreneurship, eases financing constraints, and strengthens interest linkages, all of which contribute to reduced inequality among rural households. (3) Heterogeneity analysis finds that its income‐boosting marginal effect is stronger in areas with poor accessibility to administrative facilities, marketplaces, and transportation networks, though it also widens income gaps within the rural population. This study confirms agricultural digitalization as a key driver for tackling rural income inequality in China, and it offers actionable evidence for comprehensive rural revitalization in other developing countries.

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the confirmation of homestead rights (CHR) in China, filling a gap in the research field of the distribution consequences of China’s homestead policy reform. The main innovation of this study is to demonstrate both theoretically and empirically that the interaction between the CHR and labor transfer shapes a pro-poor outcome. This study constructed a novel binary economic mathematical framework and used intensity-based DID design on unique village household data. It was found that the CHR significantly reduced income inequality, and the transfer of working-age labor force was a powerful multiplier effect. The robustness checks, including RIF regression and PSM-DID, confirmed this causal relationship. In addition, heterogeneity analysis indicates that this impact is strongest in developed eastern regions, and, crucially, strongest in low-income and low dependency ratio households. This emphasizes that the effectiveness of CHR policies is determined by both market maturity and household structure. These findings emphasize the importance of combining land certification with labor mobility policies to achieve equitable development, providing a model worth exploring for resource allocation and institutional design in developing economies.

ABSTRACTWhile correcting urban–rural income inequality is an essential challenge in China, rural e‐commerce may solve this problem. Our objective is to reveal the impact of rural e‐commerce on rural income and urban–rural income inequality. Using county‐level panel data from nine provinces for 2011–2021, we reveal that rural e‐commerce increases rural income and reduces urban–rural income inequality particularly in the eastern region. As a potential mechanism, rural e‐commerce is found to increase employment opportunities, the added value of the secondary sector, and the number of industrial enterprises above designated size. This study provides the evidence for promoting rural e‐commerce to increase rural income and reduce urban–rural income inequality in developing countries. Local governments are encouraged to further promote rural e‐commerce to increase rural incomes and reduce income inequality.

ABSTRACTThis study evaluates the impact of the targeted poverty alleviation (TPA) program in 2015 on urban–rural income inequality, defined by the ratio between the urban and rural net income. The main findings suggest that the program reduces the income ratio in poverty counties by 3.6% relative to non‐poverty counties, which implies a discernible convergence in income levels. I discuss that the significant increase in rural income per capita, improved rural employment, and more government spending contribute to the narrowing urban–rural income inequality. In conclusion, the TPA program displays a rural‐oriented character in implementation and succeeds in improving income distribution in underdeveloped regions.

This paper focuses on the impact of China’s sectorial reform on income inequality within the country and between USA. We found that when we look at the full period (1991-2020), as the employment in the primary sector decreases, income inequality within the country is undeterminable. However, when we examine time periods 1991-2007 and 2008-2020, we found that income inequality had intensified in the first period and had decreased in the second period. The income gap between China and USA had been a constant decrease no matter looking at GNI or GNI per capita. Through this research, we hypothesize that agrarian policies may play a crucial role for further decrease in income inequality in China.

As the economy grows, the digital economy has had a profound impact on multiple fields in China, particularly on the income gap. Some research believes that the digital economy helps reduce the income gap, while others disagree. This research aims to determine the impact of the development of the digital economy on the income gap within China. The research uses the literature review method to examine the impact of the digital economy, as well as analyzes typical cases to display the observation. The conclusion is that the digital economy has dual influences on the income gap, whereas, in the long run, the digital economy has a greater impact on decreasing the income gap in China. The research also points out the salient role of the government in regulating the digital economy.

The rapid development of automation and artificial intelligence has profoundly transformed traditional labor markets. However, while these technological advancements have improved productivity and efficiency, they have also triggered a range of socio-economic challenges. AIs distributional effect is directly related to the realization of Chinas 14th Five-Year Plan. This paper discusses the heterogeneity of different AI industries, focusing on Chinas Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta regions, and mainly examines how two typically different AI (labor substitution AI and skill enhancement AI) have an impact on income inequality in China, the resulting problems, and solutions. It relates to industrial isomorphism, the population siphon effect, and proposing policy interventions to address these challenges. At the microeconomic level, the revenue gap between enterprises has become an issue worthy of attention as well. For instance, while improving education, the government can provide financial subsidies and stimulate corporate development to promote balanced economic growth and stable social operation. This study employs a dual approach, analyzing both macroeconomic trends and firm-level productivity data. The solutions presented in this paper can mitigate some of the income inequality caused by automation.

This paper delves into the relationship between China's tax system and the alleviation of income inequality. After achieving a moderately prosperous society, China confronts the issue of income inequality, with a Gini coefficient in 2022 higher than the international warning line. The tax system, especially personal income tax, aims to regulate income distribution, yet its current effectiveness is limited. China's tax system encompasses multiple tax categories like value - added tax, corporate income tax, and personal income tax. However, the heavy reliance on indirect taxes and loopholes in tax collection and management weaken its role in narrowing the income gap. Income inequality in China is prominent in urban - rural and industrial dimensions, with significant income disparities. The tax system exerts regulatory effects. Personal income tax, through progressive tax rates and deductions, eases income inequality. Property tax regulates wealth distribution by targeting real estate and inheritance, while consumption tax impacts different income groups' consumption through differentiated tax rates.

This study empirically examines the impact of educational inequality on income inequality in China using panel data from 31 provinces between 2001 and 2021, with particular attention to temporal and regional heterogeneity. Theil indices are employed to measure both educational and income inequality, and fixed effects panel regression models are constructed for empirical analysis. The results indicate that, overall, educational inequality has a significant positive effect on income inequality, suggesting that unequal distribution of educational resources contributes to the widening of income gaps. The time-period analysis shows that the effect of educational inequality was significantly positive during 2001-2010, but became statistically insignificant during 2011-2020, implying that education equity policies have played a mitigating role in recent years. Regionally, the impact is more pronounced in central and western China, with the western region showing a significant mitigating effect of educational investment on income inequality.