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Explaining the changes of income distribution in China

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  • Xu, Lixin Colin
  • Zou, Heng-fu

Abstract

China has experienced one of the most remarkable increase in inequality over the last decade: the Gini coefficient increasing from 25.7 in 1984 to 37.8 in 1992. Using the recent developments in the theory of income distribution (Benerjee and Newman, 1993; Galor and Zeira, 1993) and a new panel data set about Chinese provincial-urban-level income inequality, this paper finds that inequality increased with the reduction of the share of state-owned enterprises in GDP, high inflation, growth, and (less significantly) the increasing exposure to foreign trade. We also find some evidence for the Director¡¯s Law: income redistribution tends to shift resources from the rich and the poor to the middle class. We do not find schooling and urbanization to be a significant explanatory factor.
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  • Xu, Lixin Colin & Zou, Heng-fu, 2000. "Explaining the changes of income distribution in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 149-170, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:11:y:2000:i:2:p:149-170
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    JEL classification:

    • B12 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Classical (includes Adam Smith)
    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles

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