Regional Disparities In China Research Articles

The reality and statistical distribution of energy consumption in office buildings in China

This paper analyzed the energy consumption of office buildings in several provinces and municipalities directly under the control of the Central Government of China, utilizing data from the first national survey of about 4600 samples which was conducted in 2007. The Electricity Use Intensity excluding District Heating (EUI excl. DH) of different cities or provinces was analyzed. By conducting a cluster analysis, it was found that a unique “Dual Sector Distribution” feature exists in office buildings in China, compared to a “Single-peak Distribution” characteristic in Japan and the US. The research also intended to explain the possible reasons behind this phenomenon. The Lorenz Curve and Gini Coefficient methods were used as references in order to reveal the regional disparity in China. The results suggested that: (1) EUI excl. DH of office buildings in each city or province in China appeared two different groups, most of them distributed on the lower range from 33.6 to 77.5kWhe/(m2a),111kWhe means 1kWh of electricity, distinguished from 1kWh heating (illustrating as kWhh) or 1kWh cooling (kWhc). excluding district heating energy use, while some of buildings fell within a higher range from 51.8 to 107.0kWhe/(m2a). (2) The Gini Coefficient illustrated that the more developed of urbanization, the less significant of distribution difference, and the higher the EUI excl. DH of office building in China.

Structural changes and regional disparity in China's inflation: a revisit

The study re-examined the time series properties and regional disparities in Chinese inflation by extending the work of Chong, Zhang, and Feng (2011). For this purpose we employed the Lagrange Multiplier (LM) unit root test with one structural break and two structural breaks suggested by Lee and Strazicich (2003, 2004) and a recently developed ADF type unit root test with two structural breaks of Narayan and Popp (2010). We found that national, urban and rural series of the overall inflation series, clothing, and food, national series of education and residence and the rural series of residence and education are stationary. We also found regional disparity in Chinese inflation, but the disparities existed only in education inflation series.

Natural Resource Curse, Total Factor Productivity and Regional Disparity in China: Based on Dynamic Panel Data Model Analysis

There has been the long debate over the relation between natural resource abundance and economic growth. Since the hypothesis of “natural resource curse” advanced by Gelb (1988) and Auty (1994), many scholars have concentrated on the topic, but no agreement has yet been achieved. This paper makes use of panel datasets of China’s 30 provinces from 1998 to 2009, and GMM method of dynamic panel data model, to calculate the Malmquist index of total factor productivity (TFP), test the natural resource curse hypothesis, and estimate the natural resource consumption equation. Firstly, the TFP index shows that China’s high economic growth is less efficient, and interior provinces have large disparities. Moreover, estimation results of capital and labor equations show that, for the whole country, the natural resource sector’s investment and employment promote GDP growth, so no natural resource curse exists in China. But integral three regions show different situation. The eastern region has been constrained by the resource curse effect since 2007, although the middle and west are not troubled by this due to their lower resource consumption. In addition, the natural resource consumption equation indicates that TFP has significantly negative impact on natural resource consumption for the whole country. The three regions’ TFP are all negatively correlated with resource consumption, owing to fast technological progress in resource exploitation and utilization during these years. Based on these findings, the paper reckons that if TFP rise can reduce natural resource consumption remarkably, the country or the region can eliminate the resource curse effect; or else, it has to suffer negative impact of excessive resource reliance. Finally, it makes some policy recommendations.

Foreign direct investment and China's regional income inequality

China's widening regional income inequality coupled with its pronounced regional disparity in foreign direct investment stock since 1990 has claimed the attention of many scholars. While some researchers confirm regional disparity in China's foreign direct investment, others attribute the widening regional income inequality to this regional disparity. This paper thus assesses the impacts of China's stock of foreign direct investment on its regional income inequality using simultaneous equation model and the Shapley value regression-based decomposition approach. Our results suggest that China's stock of foreign direct investment has accounted for merely 2% of its regional income inequality. Furthermore, the contribution ratio of per capita foreign direct investment stock to China's regional income inequality has relatively been on a steady decline since 2002. The decomposition results also reveal that provincial per capita physical assets account for over 50% of the nation's income inequality and 65% of the increases in income inequality since 1990. The other two important determinants of regional income inequality are province location and educational level. However, educational level is found to have a decreasing effect on regional income inequality.

Health Care Access and Regional Disparities in China

Access to health care, as a determinant of health, became unequally distributed in China as a result of continued pursuit of the market-oriented reforms introduced the late 1970s. Increasing urban-rural socio-economic disparities jeopardized the equity in social welfare and particularly the equity of access to health care, which has been widely considered a key objective of health care policies, in turn putting the disadvantaged communities in especially vulnerable position by increasing their health risks. Using the household survey data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), changes in the accessibility of health care are herein examined at the household level across socioeconomic groups in nine provinces of China over the 1989-2004 period. First, we describe the access to health care over the 15 years of survey, and then using a multivariate regression we analyze the determinants of access in 2004. We find that the geographic accessibility gap between hospitals and clinics has decreased from 1989 to 2004, while the gap in financial accessibility has increased, making urban hospitals the least accessible facilities. This study concludes a strong correlation between the geographic factors (method of travel, region, and availability of infrastructure in the province of residence) and the quality of access received. Overall, patients who are able to reach the facilities on foot enjoy better access than those who can not. Similarly, residents of the West along with the provinces with higher availability of health care facilities also tend to have a better potential access than their counterparts. Understanding of health care utilization patterns and access issues is essential for informing public decision- and policy-making aimed at improving living conditions and building a harmonious society.

Is China's Western Region Development Strategy on Track? An assessment

China's government launched the Western Region Development Strategy in 2000 with the aim of boosting economic development in 12 provinces, municipalities and autonomous administrative regions in the western part of the country. This paper presents the results of an assessment of the progress made so far and makes suggestions for better performance in the future. We conclude that although the western region has experienced impressive rates of economic growth, regional disparities in China have continued to widen in spite of the western regional strategy. We also develop a regional growth model to determine the major drivers of regional economic growth in the western region of China. Furthermore, the sources of regional disparities are examined using Morduch and Sicular's regression-based decomposition approach. These models are used for suggesting a more targeted package of regional development policies for the period beyond 2010.

Decomposition of agricultural labor productivity growth and its regional disparity in China

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate determinants of regional disparities in China's agricultural labor productivity growth.Design/methodology/approachThis paper first decomposes the regional disparity in China's agricultural productivity growth into its components: technical change, efficiency change and input accumulation per worker. The convergence test is also used to analyze the determinants of regional disparity.FindingsThe paper finds that during 1987 and 2005, although the growth of China's agricultural labor productivity mainly depended on the accumulation of inputs, technical changes contributed more to regional disparities in agricultural productivity growth.Originality/valueThis paper, which studies the determinants of regional disparities in China's agricultural labor productivity growth, contributes to a better understanding of China's agricultural growth and how to reduce the regional inequality. It is indicated that improving efficiency to promote total factor productivity growth is important for agricultural labor productivity growth for the three regions – Eastern, Central and Western – of China. The increase in inputs for Western China, and the improvement in technical change for Central and Western China are significant aspects to promote the growth of agricultural productivity and narrow the gap with Eastern China.

Economic Structure and Regional Disparity in China: Beyond the Kuznets Transition

The literature on regional change in post-reform China suggests a consistent pattern of increasing regional disparity during 1990s. This article explains disparity through the lens of industrial transition as reflected in the three major economic sectors, agriculture, manufacturing, and services from 1995 to 2004. Increased economic output in China has been accompanied by dramatic changes in employment structure at both the national and regional level. Changes at the provincial level have been driven by national trends and changes of industry mix as well as regional characteristics. The importance of industry mix and regional competitive advantage varies across sectors and has different impacts on employment and output. This analysis indicates that employment loss in agriculture in the western and central regions has not been made up by the increases in other sectors. The differential rate of transition in economic structure toward the secondary and tertiary sectors has contributed to the widening gap between the coastal areas and the other parts of the country. Our exploratory spatial analysis with regard to the extended shift—share components indicates significant spatial autocorrelation both at the sectoral and provincial level. The necessity of integrating spillover effects into any policy intervention is demonstrated. Then sensitivity analysis is carried out to examine how the selection of two spatial weight matrices will influence the decomposition results.

China's regional disparities: Experience and policy

This paper assesses the evolution of regional disparities in China, and brings information and trends up to date. Based on this assessment, it presents the broad outline of a strategy to harmonize growth and regional equity. We consider three elements of this strategy: infrastructure, social investment and protection, and governance reform. Specific policies within this broad strategy are then discussed in light of international experience. We also propose that the Chinese government take an experimental approach to interventions, as it did in the early period of agricultural reforms, learning lessons from the outcomes before scaling up.

Globalisation and the provinces of China: the role of domestic versus international trade integration

Regional disparities are particularly high in some larger emerging economies, such as Russia and China, and inter-provincial inequality in China has increased rapidly after 1990. In the literature, a statistical link between globalisation and increased regional disparities in China has been established, but not the precise mechanisms and causal relationships. In the paper, we therefore simulate a world trade model with 166 countries and regions in order to shed light on these mechanisms and the future development of regional disparities in China. Our results suggest that the faster growth in coastal regions may be caused by the role of these regions as transport hubs for international trade. However, uneven growth could also be caused by domestic trade disintegration, as suggested by some other research. In the paper, we demonstrate these mechanisms, but we are not able to draw firm conclusions about the relative role each of them play empirically. The weaker development for some peripheral regions can be reversed by stronger domestic trade integration or better cross-border infrastructure.

Economic Structure and Regional Disparity in China: Beyond the Kuznets Transition

The literature on regional change in post-reform China suggests a consistent pattern of increasing regional disparity during 1990s. This paper explains disparity through the lens of industrial transition as reflected in the three major economic sectors, agriculture, manufacturing, and services from 1995 to 2004. Increased economic output in China has been accompanied by dramatic changes in employment structure at both the national and regional level. Changes at the provincial level have been driven by national trends and changes of industry mix as well as regional characteristics. The importance of industry mix and regional competitive advantage varies across sectors and has different impacts on employment and output. This analysis indicates that employment loss in agriculture in the western and central regions has not been made up by the increases in other sectors. The differential rate of transition in economic structure toward the secondary and tertiary sectors has contributed to the widening gap between the coastal areas and the other parts of the country. Our exploratory spatial analysis with regard to the extended shift-share components indicates significant spatial autocorrelation both at the sectoral and provincial level. The necessity of integrating spillover effects into any policy intervention is demonstrated. Then sensitivity analysis is carried out to examine how the selection of two spatial weight matrices will influence the decomposition results.

International integration and the determinants of regional development in China

Concerns about the duration of China’s growth and hence the question of a permanent significant contribution of China to world economic growth relate, amongst other things, to the problem of reducing regional disparity in China. While China’s high average growth is driven by a small number of rapidly developing provinces, the majority of provinces have experienced a more moderate development. To obtain broad continuos growth it is important to identify the determinants of provincial growth. Therefore, we introduce a stylized model of regional development which is characterized by two pillars: (1) International integration indicated by FDI and/or trade lead to imitation of international technologies, technology spill overs and temporary dynamic scale economies, and (2) domestic factors indicated by human and real capital available through interregional factor mobility. Using panel data analysis and GMM estimates our empirical analysis supports the predictions from our theoretical model of regional development. Positive and significant coefficients for FDI and trade support the importance of international integration and technology imitation. A negative and significant lagged GDP per capita indicates a catching up, non steady state process across China’s provinces. Highly significant human and real capital identifies the importance of these domestic growth restricting factors. However, other potentially important factors like labor or government expenditures are (surprisingly) insignificant or even negative. Extending the model using an unbalanced panel leads to a positive effect of the quality of governance and institutions on development.

Reducing regional disparities in China: An evaluation of alternative policies

Regional disparities in output per capita and income in China are large and persistent. They have been the subject of considerable concern to policy-makers at the highest level for decades, yet little is known about the effectiveness of various alternative policies which may be used to combat them. In this paper we address this issue by analysing the effectiveness of a range of policies by both regional and central governments. We use a small model with various features of the Chinese economy: two regions (the interior and the coast), two industries (agriculture and manufacturing), inter-regional capital mobility, internal migration subject to the hukou system of household registration and some features of the Chinese tax and expenditure system. The model is calibrated to Chinese data and simulated to analyse the effects of a number of policies on a range of variables but focussing on per capita output disparities and welfare. We find that a policy reducing internal migration costs is effective in reducing the per capita output gap but does so at a substantial cost to the coast. Policies which improve agricultural productivity in the interior region are most likely to both reduce the gap and make both regions better-off. Changes in government consumption expenditure, central government fiscal redistributions and tax cuts, on the other hand, are less effective and have their long-run effectiveness reduced by migration.

Structural change of agricultural land use intensity and its regional disparity in China

Based on the data from the Cost-benefit Data of Farm Produce and the China Agricultural Yearbook, this paper divided the intensity of cultivated land use into labor intensity and capital intensity, and then analyzed their temporal and spatial change at both national and provincial levels between 1980 and 2006. The results showed that: (1) At the national level, labor intensity on food produce decreased from 398.5 day/ha in 1980 to 130.25 day/ha in 2006; and a continuous decrease with a steep decline between 1980 and 1986, a slower decline from 1987 to 1996, and another steep decline from 1997 to 2006. On the contrary, capital intensity shows an increasing trend since 1980. As to the internal composition of capital intensity, the proportion of seed, chemical fertilizer and pesticide input decreased from 90.36% to 73.44% and the proportion of machinery increased from 9.64% to 26.56%. The less emphasis on yield-increasing input and more emphasis on labor-saving input are the main reasons for a slow increase of yield per unit area after 1996. (2) At the provincial level, the developed areas have lower labor intensity and higher capital intensity. The less developed ones have higher labor intensity but lower capital intensity. From the viewpoint of the internal composition of capital intensity, labor-saving input accounts for more proportion in the developed areas than that of other areas. The main reason is that in these developed areas, labor input has become a constraint factor in food production as more and more labors engaged in off-farm work. Farmers increase the labor-saving input for higher labor productivity. However, in the less developed areas, the major constraint is the shortage of capital; food production is still depending on labor and yield-increasing inputs.

Regional Disparities in China’s Mainland at Provincial Level Between 2000 and 2005

Abstract Based on the methodology provided by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, we analyze regional disparities in China’s mainland at provincial level between 2000 and 2005. It regards regional GDP growth as the joint result of contribution of a number of factors, i.e. capital productivity, capital per manpower, specialization, employment rate, active population, and population. The results show that for all provincial units, capital per manpower is a dominant contributing factor to the growth of GDP per capita during the period from 2000 to 2005 while capital productivity has quite significant negative impacts. Specialization contributes differently in different provinces. In most provincial units, employment rate and age activity have a positive impact on growth of GDP per capita, though not very significantly.

Reasserting the public in public service delivery: The de-privatization and de-marketization of education in China

In the last two decades, China has experienced significant economic transformations and social changes. The economic reforms started in the late 1970s have unquestionably enabled some social groups to become wealthy but the same processes have also widened the gap between the rich and the poor and intensified regional disparities in China. Most significant of all, embracing the market economy has inevitably challenged the way socialism is practiced in China, especially through the growing prominence of neo-liberal ideas and strategies in reforms, not only in the economic sector but also in public sector management and social policy delivery. After pursuing marketization of public service delivery in the last few decades, a process of re-appraisal has begun, with new thinking evident concerning the role of government in financing and provision of public services. This has been prompted in large part by growing social unrest over the financial burdens experienced in accessing user-pays services in education, health and housing. While market principles and a low level of state investment in public services are now deeply entrenched, the Chinese leadership has called for a new social policy paradigm by reasserting the public in public service delivery. This paper explores current reforms in education and discusses the coping strategies and the policy implications for launching a new public service delivery model in the next few years.

Labor Productivity Differences in China 1987-1997: An Interregional Decomposition Analysis

The literature on regional disparities in China is both broad and deep. Nonetheless, much of its focus has been on the effects of trade liberalization and national policies toward investment in interior provinces. Few pieces have examined whether the disparities might simply be due to differences in industry mix, final demand, or even interregional trade. Using two newly published multiregional input-output tables and disaggregated employment data, we decompose change in labor productivity growth for seven regions of China between 1987 and 1997 into five partial effects—changes in value added coefficients, direct labor requirements, aggregate production mix, interregional trade, and final demand. Subsequently we summarize the contributions to labor productivity of the different factors at the regional level. In this way, we present a new perspective on recent causes of China’s interregional disparity in GDP per capita.

Interregional Decomposition of Labor Productivity Differences in China, 1987-1997

The literature on regional disparities in China is both broad and deep. Nonetheless much of its focus has been on the effects of trade liberalization and national policies toward investment in interior provinces. Few pieces have examined whether the disparities might simply be due to differences in industry mix, final demand, or even interregional trade. Using multiregional input-output tables and disaggregated employment data, we decompose change in labor productivity growth for seven regions of China between 1987 and 1997 into five partial effects—changes in value added coefficients, direct labor requirements, aggregate production mix, interregional trade, and final demand. Subsequently we summarize the contributions to labor productivity of the different factors at the regional level. In this way, we present a new perspective for recent causes of China’s interregional disparity in GDP per worker.

Trade-cum-FDI, Human Capital Inequality and Regional Disparities in China: the Singer Perspective

This paper explores the causes of regional disparities in China in the light of the Singer Hypotheses. The impact of inter-regional economic relationships and trade-cum-FDI on regional income inequality and the transmission mechanisms are investigated. The interactions between economic structure, trade-cum-FDI, human capital inequality and regional income gap, and the role of the fiscal and financial systems are analysed in the regional development context. It finds that the centre-periphery type of economic relationship between the coastal and the inland regions and the trade-cum-FDI in the coastal regions have all contributed to the regional income inequalities in China. Increasing human capital inequality is one of the major transmission mechanisms. Policy implications are discussed, emphasizing the role of the state, human capital and openness.

A drive up the capital coast? Contributions to post-reform growth across Chinese provinces

We use nonparametric production-frontier methods to decompose the growth of labor productivity of Chinese provinces in the post-reform period. These techniques, combined with kernel density estimates, allow us to decompose the shift in the distribution of labor productivity without the need for many assumptions common in the empirical growth literature. We find that (1) the distribution of output per worker across Chinese provinces is multimodal, (2) technology change is decidedly nonneutral, (3) physical capital accumulation has been the major driving force behind the growth performance of Chinese provinces and (4) it attempts to drive convergence between provinces, but (5) minimal technological progress and human capital accumulation are key factors responsible for the regional disparities in China.