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Did China's Tax-for-Fee Reform Improve Farmers' Welfare in Rural Areas?

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  • James Alm
  • Yongzheng Liu

Abstract

China enacted a rural tax reform - the 'Tax-for-Fee Reform' (TFR) - in the late 1990s. A crucial but unanswered question is whether this reform improved farmers' welfare in rural areas. This article uses village-level survey data from the Chinese Household Income Project in order to examine the effect of the TFR on farmers' direct and indirect welfare. We find no evidence that the direct welfare effects improved farmers' net income. In contrast, the reform appears to have reduced the villages' financing capacity, and hence to have lowered their overall expenditures. These indirect effects have had significant negative impacts on farmers' welfare.

Suggested Citation

  • James Alm & Yongzheng Liu, 2013. "Did China's Tax-for-Fee Reform Improve Farmers' Welfare in Rural Areas?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(4), pages 516-532, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:49:y:2013:i:4:p:516-532
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2012.729048
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    Cited by:

    1. Nora Lustig & Yang Wang, 2020. "The Impact of Taxes and Transfers on Income Inequality, Poverty, and the Urban-Rural And Regional Income Gaps in China," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 93, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    2. Xi Zhang & Scott Rozelle, 2022. "Education Universalization, Rural School Participation, and Population Density," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 30(4), pages 4-30, July.
    3. James Alm, 2015. "Financing Urban Infrastructure: Knowns, Unknowns, And A Way Forward," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 230-262, April.
    4. Yongzheng Liu & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Baoyun Qiao, 2014. "Falling Short: Intergovernmental Transfers in China," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1423, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O5 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies
    • P3 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions

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