IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/chieco/v61y2020ics1043951x19300173.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Political Control and Economic Inequality: Evidence from Chinese Cities

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Muyang
  • Zhou, Guangsu
  • Fan, Gang

Abstract

This paper explores the consequence of political control on intra-city economic inequality. Utilizing the unique political institution with mass cadre transfers and household survey data from 81 Chinese cities in 2010, 2012, and 2014, we find that cities with a “local” leader enjoy an almost 6% reduction in expenditure inequality, and the gap is especially narrowed in the lower income families. The reduction is attributed to larger amount of targeted transfers to low-income households. This paper is among the first to empirically support the argument supporting local residence duration for office holding in public sectors, and also contributes to understanding the political economy of social welfare programs as well as campaigns in inequality reduction.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Muyang & Zhou, Guangsu & Fan, Gang, 2020. "Political Control and Economic Inequality: Evidence from Chinese Cities," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:61:y:2020:i:c:s1043951x19300173
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2019.01.011
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043951X19300173
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.chieco.2019.01.011?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carozzi, Felipe & Repetto, Luca, 2016. "Sending the pork home: Birth town bias in transfers to Italian municipalities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 42-52.
    2. Branko Milanovic, 1999. "Explaining the increase in inequality during transition," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 7(2), pages 299-341, July.
    3. Campbell, Andrea Louise, 2002. "Self-Interest, Social Security, and the Distinctive Participation Patterns of Senior Citizens," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 96(3), pages 565-574, September.
    4. Petra Persson & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2016. "The Limits Of Career Concerns In Federalism: Evidence From China," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 14(2), pages 338-374, April.
    5. Hochard, Jacob & Barbier, Edward, 2017. "Market Accessibility and Economic Growth: Insights from a New Dimension of Inequality," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 279-297.
    6. Daniel Halter & Manuel Oechslin & Josef Zweimüller, 2014. "Inequality and growth: the neglected time dimension," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 81-104, March.
    7. Yingyi Qian & Chenggang Xu, 1993. "Why China's economic reforms differ: the M‐form hierarchy and entry/expansion of the non‐state sector," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 1(2), pages 135-170, June.
    8. Iversen, Torben & Soskice, David, 2006. "Electoral Institutions and the Politics of Coalitions: Why Some Democracies Redistribute More Than Others," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 100(2), pages 165-181, May.
    9. Easterly, William, 2007. "Inequality does cause underdevelopment: Insights from a new instrument," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 755-776, November.
    10. Tetsuo Ono, 2015. "Public education and social security: a political economy approach," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 1-25, February.
    11. Bagchi, Sutirtha & Svejnar, Jan, 2015. "Does wealth inequality matter for growth? The effect of billionaire wealth, income distribution, and poverty," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 505-530.
    12. Peter Gottschalk, 1997. "Inequality, Income Growth, and Mobility: The Basic Facts," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 21-40, Spring.
    13. Frazer, Garth, 2006. "Inequality and development across and within countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(9), pages 1459-1481, September.
    14. Olivier Blanchard & Andrei Shleifer, 2001. "Federalism With and Without Political Centralization: China Versus Russia," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 48(4), pages 1-8.
    15. Alvaro Forteza & Ianina Rossi, 2009. "The contribution of government transfer programs to inequality. A net-benefit approach," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 12, pages 55-67, May.
    16. Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez, 2014. "Inequality in the long run," PSE - Labex "OSE-Ouvrir la Science Economique" halshs-01053609, HAL.
    17. Docquier, Frederic & Paddison, Oliver, 2003. "Social security benefit rules, growth and inequality," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 47-71, March.
    18. Oechslin, Manuel & Halter, David, 2010. "Inequality and Growth: The Neglected Time Dimension," CEPR Discussion Papers 8033, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Chenggang Xu, 2011. "The Fundamental Institutions of China's Reforms and Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1076-1151, December.
    20. Alberto Chong & Mark Gradstein, 2007. "Inequality and Institutions," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(3), pages 454-465, August.
    21. Valerio Mendoza, Octasiano M., 2016. "Preferential policies and income inequality: Evidence from Special Economic Zones and Open Cities in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 228-240.
    22. Eric Maskin & Yingyi Qian & Chenggang Xu, 2000. "Incentives, Information, and Organizational Form," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 67(2), pages 359-378.
    23. Shen, Ling, 2013. "How does wealth distribution affect firm's incentive to innovate better quality goods?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 516-523.
    24. Xiaoyan Lei & Yan Shen & James P. Smith & Guangsu Zhou, 2018. "Life satisfaction in China and consumption and income inequalities," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 75-95, March.
    25. Alvaro Forteza & Ianina Rossi, 2009. "The Contribution of Government Transfer Programs to Inequality. A Net-Benefit Approach," Journal of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 55-67, May.
    26. Li, Hongbin & Zhou, Li-An, 2005. "Political turnover and economic performance: the incentive role of personnel control in China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(9-10), pages 1743-1762, September.
    27. Ruixue Jia & Masayuki Kudamatsu & David Seim, 2015. "Political Selection In China: The Complementary Roles Of Connections And Performance," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 631-668, August.
    28. Guido Tabellini, 2000. "A Positive Theory of Social Security," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 102(3), pages 523-545, September.
    29. Georges Casamatta & Helmuth Cremer & Pierre Pestieau, 2000. "The Political Economy of Social Security," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 102(3), pages 503-522, September.
    30. Fiva, Jon H. & Halse, Askill H., 2016. "Local favoritism in at-large proportional representation systems," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 15-26.
    31. Guillermo E. Perry & Omar S. Arias & J. Humberto López & William F. Maloney & Luis Servén, 2006. "Poverty Reduction and Growth : Virtuous and Vicious Circles," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6997, December.
    32. Ryo Arawatari & Tetsuo Ono, 2013. "The Political Economy of Social Security in a Borrowing-Constrained Economy," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 15(3), pages 448-476, June.
    33. Dewen Wang, 2006. "China's Urban and Rural Old Age Security System: Challenges and Options," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 14(1), pages 102-116, February.
    34. Daron Acemoglu, 2002. "Technical Change, Inequality, and the Labor Market," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(1), pages 7-72, March.
    35. Lin, Faqin & Fu, Dahai, 2016. "Trade, Institution Quality and Income Inequality," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 129-142.
    36. Muinelo-Gallo, Leonel & Roca-Sagalés, Oriol, 2013. "Joint determinants of fiscal policy, income inequality and economic growth," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 814-824.
    37. Glomm, Gerhard & Kaganovich, Michael, 2008. "Social security, public education and the growth-inequality relationship," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(6), pages 1009-1034, August.
    38. Qian, Yingyi & Xu, Cheng-Gang, 1993. "Why China's economic reforms differ: the m-form hierarchy and entry/expansion of the non-state sector," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 3755, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    39. Shih, Victor & Adolph, Christopher & Liu, Mingxing, 2012. "Getting Ahead in the Communist Party: Explaining the Advancement of Central Committee Members in China," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 106(1), pages 166-187, February.
    40. Yang Yao & Muyang Zhang, 2015. "Subnational leaders and economic growth: evidence from Chinese cities," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 405-436, December.
    41. Coibion, Olivier & Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Kueng, Lorenz & Silvia, John, 2017. "Innocent Bystanders? Monetary policy and inequality," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 70-89.
    42. repec:idb:brikps:39798 is not listed on IDEAS
    43. Shen, Yan & Yao, Yang, 2008. "Does grassroots democracy reduce income inequality in China?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(10-11), pages 2182-2198, October.
    44. Casamatta, Georges & Cremer, Helmuth & Pestieau, Pierre, 2000. " The Political Economy of Social Security," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 102(3), pages 503-522, June.
    45. Chang, Gene H., 2002. "The cause and cure of China's widening income disparity," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 335-340, December.
    46. Jacqueline Mazza, 2000. "Unemployment Insurance: Case Studies and Lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 6460, Inter-American Development Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pei Liu & Jiajun Xu & Xiaojun Yang, 2023. "Spatial Difference and Convergence of Ecological Common Prosperity: Evidence from the Yellow River Basin in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-22, February.
    2. Ya Zhao & Lennon H. T. Choy & Kwong Wing Chau, 2023. "Political Circles and Land Supply for the Service and Industrial Sectors: Evidence from 284 Cities in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, February.
    3. Tang, Chang & Xue, Yan & Wu, Haitao & Irfan, Muhammad & Hao, Yu, 2022. "How does telecommunications infrastructure affect eco-efficiency? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Ting & Kung, J.K.-S., 2016. "Do land revenue windfalls create a political resource curse? Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 86-106.
    2. Chen, Shuo & Qiao, Xue & Zhu, Zhitao, 2021. "Chasing or cheating? Theory and evidence on China's GDP manipulation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 657-671.
    3. Hanming Fang & Ming Li & Zenan Wu, 2022. "Tournament-Style Political Competition and Local Protectionism: Theory and Evidence from China," PIER Working Paper Archive 22-031, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    4. Ling, Leng & Luo, Danglun & SHE, Guoman, 2019. "Judging a book by its Cover: The influence of physical attractiveness on the promotion of regional leaders," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 1-14.
    5. Wang, Li & Menkhoff, Lukas & Schröder, Michael & Xu, Xian, 2019. "Politicians’ promotion incentives and bank risk exposure in China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 63-94.
    6. Chen, Qianmiao & Huang, Qingyang & Liu, Chang & Wang, Peng, 2022. "Career incentives of local leaders and crisis response: A case study of COVID-19 lockdowns in China," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    7. Suárez Serrato, Juan Carlos & Wang, Xiao Yu & Zhang, Shuang, 2019. "The limits of meritocracy: Screening bureaucrats under imperfect verifiability," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 223-241.
    8. Junxue Jia & Jing Ning & Jing Zhang, 2023. "Information transparency, monitoring, and incentives under decentralization: Evidence from China's fiscal reform of “province managing county”," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(2), pages 263-289, March.
    9. Jiancai Pi, 2017. "An economic analysis of the political promotion system in China," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 35(2), pages 375-390.
    10. Qichun He & Meng Sun, 2018. "Does Fiscal Decentralization Increase the Investment Rate? Evidence from Chinese Panel Data," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 19(1), pages 75-101, May.
    11. Pi‐han Tsai & Jianliang Ye, 2018. "The Lame‐Duck Effect and Fiscal Policy in China," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 56(3), pages 197-220, September.
    12. Xi, Tianyang & Yao, Yang & Zhang, Muyang, 2018. "Capability and opportunism: Evidence from city officials in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 1046-1061.
    13. Kong, Dongmin & Liu, Shasha & Xiang, Junyi, 2018. "Political promotion and labor investment efficiency," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 273-293.
    14. Jing Wu & Hao Li & Keyang Li, 2020. "Local political chief turnover and economic growth: Evidence from China," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3), pages 441-466, July.
    15. Tian, Zhihua & Hu, An & Chen, Yang & Shao, Shuai, 2023. "Local officials’ tenure and CO2 emissions in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    16. Jiankun Lu & Pi-Han Tsai, 2017. "Signal and political accountability: environmental petitions in China," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 391-418, November.
    17. Wu, Mingqin & Chen, Bin, 2016. "Assignment of provincial officials based on economic performance: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 60-75.
    18. Fang, Hanming & Hou, Linke & Liu, Mingxing & Xu, Lixin Colin & Zhang, Pengfei, 2023. "Political survival, local accountability, and long-term development: Evidence from an authoritarian country," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 15-40.
    19. Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2017. "Growing and Slowing Down Like China," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(5), pages 943-988.
    20. Yu Bai & Yanjun Li, 2022. "Political tournaments and regional growth‐enhancing policies: Evidence from Chinese prefectures," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(5), pages 1358-1385, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Political control; Cadre transfers; Economic inequality; Targeted transfer;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:61:y:2020:i:c:s1043951x19300173. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/chieco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.