Skip to main content

Financial Development and Income Inequality in Rural China 1991–2000

  • Chapter
Understanding Inequality and Poverty in China

Part of the book series: Studies in Development Economics and Policy ((SDEP))

Abstract

The Chinese economy has experienced impressive growth over the last two decades. However, this rapid growth has been accompanied by remarkable increases in inequality. According to the World Bank (1997), China’s Gini coefficient rose from 0.288 in 1981 to 0.388 in 1995. Similarly, the Chinese official statistics indicate that the Gini coefficient rose from 0.330 in 1980 to 0.458 in 2000 (Chang 2002). More recently, Ravallion and Chen (2007) find that, after adjusting for difference in the cost-of-living between urban and rural China, the Gini coefficient for China as a whole climbed up from 0.280 in 1981 to 0.394 in 2001.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Arellano M. (2002) ‘Sargan’s Instrumental Variables Estimation and the Generalized Method of Moments’, Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, 20, 4: 450–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arellano, M. and Bond S. (1991) ‘Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations’, Review of Economic Studies, 58, 2: 277–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee, A.V. and Newman, A.F. (1993) ‘Occupational Choice and the Process of Development’, Journal of Political Economy, 101, 2: 274–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beck T., Levine, R. and Loayza, N. (2000) ‘Finance and the Sources of Growth’, Journal of Financial Economics, 58, 1–2: 261–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benjamin, D., Brandt, L., Giles, J. and Wang, S. (2005) ‘Income Inequality During China’s Economic Transition’, University of Toronto (Department of Economics) Working Paper tecipa-238, University of Toronto, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blundell, R. and Bond, S. (1998) ‘Initial Conditions and Moment Restrictions in Dynamic Panel Data Models’, Journal of Econometrics, 87, 1: 115–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, G.H. (2002) ‘The Cause and Cure of China’s Widening Income Disparity’, China Economic Review, 13: 335–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, Y.-S. (1996) ‘A Decomposition Analysis of Income Inequality of Chinese Rural Households’, China Economic Review, 7, 2: 155–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, G., Xu, L.C. and Zou, H. (2003) ‘Finance and Income Inequality: Test of Alternative Theories’, Policy Research Working Paper 2984 (Washington, DC: World Bank).

    Google Scholar 

  • Fan, S., Zhang, L. and Zhang, X. (2004) ‘Reform, Investment and Poverty in Rural China’, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 52, 2: 395–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galor, O. and Zeira, J. (1993) ‘Income Distribution and Macroeconomics’, Review of Economic Studies, 60, 1: 35–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood, J. and Jovanovic, B. (1990) ‘Financial Development, Growth, and the Distribution of Income’, Journal of Political Economy, 98, 5: 1076–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gustafsson, B. and Li, S. (2002) ‘Income Inequality within and across Counties in Rural China 1988 and 1995’, Journal of Development Economics, 69, 1: 179–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, L. (1982) ‘Large Sample Properties of Generalized Method of Moments Estimators’, Econometrica, 50: 1029–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hare, D. (1994) ‘Rural Nonagricultural Activities and Their Impact on the Distribution of Income: Evidence from Farm Households in Southern China’, China Economic Review, 5, 1: 59–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, Q., Dawe, D., Huang, J., Rozelle, S. and Wang, J. (2003) ‘Irrigation, Poverty and Inequality in Rural China’, CCAP Working Paper 03-E14 (Beijing: CCAP).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanbur, R. and Zhang, X. (1999) ‘Which Regional Inequality? The Evolution of Rural-Urban and Inland/Coastal Inequality in China’, Journal of Comparative Economics, 27: 686–701.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khan, A.R. and Riskin, C. (1998) ‘Income and Inequality in China: Composition, Distribution and Growth of Household Income, 1988 to 1995’, China Quarterly, 154: 221–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kung, J. and Lee, Y. (2001) ‘So What If There Is Income Inequality? The Distributive Consequence of Nonfarm Employment in Rural China’, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 50, 1: 19–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuznets, S. (1955) ‘Economic Growth and Income Inequality’, American Economic Review, 45, 1: 1–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, H., Squire, L. and Zou, H. (1998) ‘Explaining International and Intertemporal Variations in Income Inequality’, Economic Journal, 108, 446: 26–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NBS (National Bureau of Statistics) (various years) China Rural Statistical Yearbook (Beijing: China Statistics Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • NBS (National Bureau of Statistics) (various years) China Statistical Yearbook (Beijing: China Statistics Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • NBS (National Bureau of Statistics) (1999) Comprehensive Statistical Data and Materials on 50 Years of China (Beijing: China Statistics Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Newey, W. and West, K. (1987) ‘Hypothesis Testing with Efficient Method of Moments Estimation’, International Economic Review, 28: 777–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • PBC (People’s Bank of China) (various years) Almanac of Chinas Finance and Banking (Beijing: China Financial Publishing House (Zhongguo Jinrong Chubanshe)).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ravallion, M. and Chen, S. (2007) ‘China’s (Uneven) Progress against Poverty’, Journal of Development Economics, 82: 1–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rozelle, S. (1994) ‘Rural Industrialization and Increasing Inequality: Emerging Patterns in China’s Reforming Economy’, Journal of Comparative Economics, 19, 3: 362–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsui, K.Y. (1998) ‘Trends and Inequality of Rural Welfare in China: Evidence from Rural Households in Guangdong and Sichuan’, Journal of Comparative Economics, 26: 783–804.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan, G.H. (2001) ‘Changes in Regional Inequality in Rural China: Decomposing the Gini Index by Income Sources’, Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 45, 3: 361–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan, G.H. (2004) ‘Accounting for Income Inequality in Rural China’, Journal of Comparative Economics, 32, 2: 348–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan, G.H., Lu, M. and Chen, Z. (2006) ‘The Inequality-Growth Nexus in the Short Run and Long Run, Empirical Evidence from China’, Journal of Comparative Economics, 34: 654–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan, G.H., Lu, M. and Chen, Z. (2008) ‘Globalization and Regional Inequality in China’, Chapter 1, this volume.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wan, G.H. and Zhou, Z.Y. (2005) ‘Income Inequality in Rural China: Regressionbased Decomposition Using Household Data’, Review of Development Economics, 9, 1: 107–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (1997) Sharing Rising Incomes: Disparities in China (Washington, DC: World Bank Publications).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2008 United Nations University

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Liang, Z. (2008). Financial Development and Income Inequality in Rural China 1991–2000. In: Wan, G. (eds) Understanding Inequality and Poverty in China. Studies in Development Economics and Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230584259_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics