IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-00633899.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Income per capita inequality in China: The Role of Economic Geography and Spatial Interactions

Author

Listed:
  • Laura Hering

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Sandra Poncet

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This paper contributes to the analysis of growing income disparities within China. Based on a structural model of economic geography using data on per capita income, we evaluate the extent to which market proximity and spatial dependence can explain growing income inequality between Chinese cities. We rely on a data set of 195 Chinese cities between 1995 and 2002. Our econometric specification incorporates an explicit consideration of spatial dependence effects in the form of spatially lagged per capita income. We provide evidence that the geography of access to markets is statistically significant in explaining variation in per capita income in China, especially so in provinces with low migration inflows which is coherent with NEG theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura Hering & Sandra Poncet, 2010. "Income per capita inequality in China: The Role of Economic Geography and Spatial Interactions," Post-Print hal-00633899, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00633899
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9701.2010.01241.x
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-00633899
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-00633899/document
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-9701.2010.01241.x?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
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paul Krugman & Anthony J. Venables, 1995. "Globalization and the Inequality of Nations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 110(4), pages 857-880.
    2. Kanbur, Ravi & Venables, Anthony J. (ed.), 2005. "Spatial Inequality and Development," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199278633, Decembrie.
    3. Wolfgang Keller, 2002. "Geographic Localization of International Technology Diffusion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 120-142, March.
    4. Nicole Madariaga & Sandra Poncet, 2007. "FDI in Chinese Cities: Spillovers and Impact on Growth," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 837-862, May.
    5. Richard Baldwin & Rikard Forslid & Philippe Martin & Gianmarco Ottaviano & Frederic Robert-Nicoud, 2005. "Economic Geography and Public Policy," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 7524.
    6. Wolfgang Keller, 2004. "International Technology Diffusion," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(3), pages 752-782, September.
    7. Redding, Stephen & Venables, Anthony J., 2004. "Economic geography and international inequality," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 53-82, January.
    8. Krugman, Paul, 1991. "Increasing Returns and Economic Geography," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 483-499, June.
    9. Shang-Jin Wei, 1996. "Intra-National versus International Trade: How Stubborn are Nations in Global Integration?," NBER Working Papers 5531, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Head, Keith & Mayer, Thierry, 2006. "Regional wage and employment responses to market potential in the EU," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 573-594, September.
    11. Bernard Fingleton, 2006. "The new economic geography versus urban economics: an evaluation using local wage rates in Great Britain," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(3), pages 501-530, July.
    12. Sergio Rey & Brett Montouri, 1999. "US Regional Income Convergence: A Spatial Econometric Perspective," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 143-156.
    13. Mion, Giordano, 2004. "Spatial externalities and empirical analysis: the case of Italy," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 97-118, July.
    14. Meng, Xin & Gregory, Robert & Wang, Youjuan, 2005. "Poverty, inequality, and growth in urban China, 1986-2000," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 710-729, December.
    15. H. Hanson, Gordon, 2005. "Market potential, increasing returns and geographic concentration," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 1-24, September.
    16. Maria ABREU & Henri L.F. DE GROOT & Raymond J.G.M. FLORAX, 2005. "Space And Growth: A Survey Of Empirical Evidence And Methods," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 21, pages 13-44.
    17. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Duranton, Gilles & Gobillon, Laurent, 2008. "Spatial wage disparities: Sorting matters!," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 723-742, March.
    18. Cletus C. Coughlin & Eran Segev, 2000. "Foreign Direct Investment in China: A Spatial Econometric Study," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 1-23, January.
    19. Cheung Kui-yin & Lin, Ping, 2004. "Spillover effects of FDI on innovation in China: Evidence from the provincial data," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 25-44.
    20. Maria Abreu & Henri L.F. de Groot & Raymond J.G.M. Florax, 2004. "Space and Growth," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 04-129/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    21. Richard Baldwin & Rikard Forslid & Philippe Martin & Gianmarco Ottaviano & Frederic Robert-Nicoud, 2005. "Economic Geography and Public Policy," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 7524.
    22. de Sousa, José & Poncet, Sandra, 2011. "How are wages set in Beijing?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 9-19, January.
    23. Bruce A. Blonigen & Ronald B. Davies & Glen R. Waddell & Helen T. Naughton, 2019. "FDI in Space: Spatial Autoregressive Relationships in Foreign Direct Investment," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foreign Direct Investment, chapter 2, pages 55-88, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    24. Au, Chun-Chung & Henderson, J. Vernon, 2006. "How migration restrictions limit agglomeration and productivity in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 350-388, August.
    25. Laura Hering & Sandra Poncet, 2010. "Market Access and Individual Wages: Evidence from China," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(1), pages 145-159, February.
    26. James H. Stock & Motohiro Yogo, 2002. "Testing for Weak Instruments in Linear IV Regression," NBER Technical Working Papers 0284, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    27. N/A, 2005. "The World Economy," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 191(1), pages 8-30, January.
    28. repec:hhs:iuiwop:430 is not listed on IDEAS
    29. Long Gen Ying, 2003. "Understanding China’s recent growth experience: A spatial econometric perspective," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 37(4), pages 613-628, December.
    30. Alyson C. Ma, 2006. "Geographical Location of Foreign Direct Investment and Wage Inequality in China," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 1031-1055, August.
    31. Bernard Fingleton, 1999. "Estimates of Time to Economic Convergence: An Analysis of Regions of the European Union," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 22(1), pages 5-34, April.
    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. Qin, Xuezheng & Hsieh, Chee-Ruey, 2014. "Economic growth and the geographic maldistribution of health care resources: Evidence from China, 1949-2010," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 228-246.
    2. Bosker, Maarten & Brakman, Steven & Garretsen, Harry & Schramm, Marc, 2012. "Relaxing Hukou: Increased labor mobility and China’s economic geography," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 252-266.
    3. Haijiang Wu & Qichao Wu, 2021. "The geography of migrant workers' income in China: Evidence from a migrants dynamic survey in 2017," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 1826-1851, September.
    4. Han, Feng & Ke, Shanzi, 2016. "The effects of factor proximity and market potential on urban manufacturing output," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 31-45.
    5. Hering, Laura & Poncet, Sandra, 2009. "The impact of economic geography on wages: Disentangling the channels of influence," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 1-14, March.
    6. Herrmann-Pillath, Carsten & Libman, Alexander & Yu, Xiaofan, 2014. "Economic integration in China: Politics and culture," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 470-492.
    7. repec:hal:journl:dumas-00802143 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Roberts, Mark & Deichmann, Uwe & Fingleton, Bernard & Shi, Tuo, 2012. "Evaluating China's road to prosperity: A new economic geography approach," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 580-594.
    9. Roberts,Mark, 2016. "Identifying the economic potential of Indian districts," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7623, The World Bank.
    10. Das, Samarjit & Ghate, Chetan & Robertson, Peter E., 2015. "Remoteness, Urbanization, and India’s Unbalanced Growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 572-587.
    11. Roberts, Mark & Deichmann, Uwe & Fingleton, Bernard & Shi, Tuo, 2010. "On the road to prosperity ? The economic geography of China's national expressway network," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5479, The World Bank.
    12. Alfred M Wu, 2019. "The logic of basic education provision and public goods preferences in Chinese fiscal federalism," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(12), pages 1-15, December.

    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. Hering, Laura & Poncet, Sandra, 2009. "The impact of economic geography on wages: Disentangling the channels of influence," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 1-14, March.
    2. de Sousa, José & Poncet, Sandra, 2011. "How are wages set in Beijing?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 9-19, January.
    3. Breinlich, Holger & Ottaviano, Gianmarco I.P. & Temple, Jonathan R.W., 2014. "Regional Growth and Regional Decline," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 4, pages 683-779, Elsevier.
    4. repec:esx:essedp:729 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Pierre-Philippe Combes, 2011. "The empirics of economic geography: how to draw policy implications?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 147(3), pages 567-592, September.
    6. Brakman, Steven & Garretsen, Harry & Schramm, Marc, 2006. "Putting new economic geography to the test: Free-ness of trade and agglomeration in the EU regions," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 613-635, September.
    7. Burhan Can Karahasan & Fırat Bilgel, 2020. "Market access and regional dispersion of human capital accumulation in Turkey," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 1073-1101, August.
    8. Stephen J. Redding, 2010. "The Empirics Of New Economic Geography," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 297-311, February.
    9. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Gobillon, Laurent, 2015. "The Empirics of Agglomeration Economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 247-348, Elsevier.
    10. Stephen J. Redding, 2013. "Economic Geography: A Review of the Theoretical and Empirical Literature," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Daniel Bernhofen & Rod Falvey & David Greenaway & Udo Kreickemeier (ed.), Palgrave Handbook of International Trade, chapter 16, pages 497-531, Palgrave Macmillan.
    11. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Lafourcade, Miren, 2011. "Competition, market access and economic geography: Structural estimation and predictions for France," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 508-524.
    12. Rosa Sanchis-Guarner, 2012. "Driving Up Wages: The Effects of Road Construction in Great Britain," SERC Discussion Papers 0120, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    13. Bosker, Maarten & Brakman, Steven & Garretsen, Harry & Schramm, Marc, 2012. "Relaxing Hukou: Increased labor mobility and China’s economic geography," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 252-266.
    14. Kristian Behrens & Frédéric Robert‐Nicoud, 2009. "Krugman's Papers in Regional Science: The 100 dollar bill on the sidewalk is gone and the 2008 Nobel Prize well‐deserved," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 88(2), pages 467-489, June.
    15. Maria Florencia Granato, 2011. "REGIONAL NEW ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY (refereed paper)," ERSA conference papers ersa10p747, European Regional Science Association.
    16. Rafael Alvarado & Miguel Atienza, 2014. "The role of market access and human capital in regional wage disparities: Empirical evidence for Ecuador," Documentos de Trabajo en Economia y Ciencia Regional 50, Universidad Catolica del Norte, Chile, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2014.
    17. Christoph Hammer & Aurélien Fichet de Clairfontaine, 2016. "Trade Costs and Income in European Regions," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp220, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    18. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/1kv8mtgl748r0ahh12air9erdc is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Laura Hering & Sandra Poncet, 2010. "Market Access and Individual Wages: Evidence from China," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(1), pages 145-159, February.
    20. Yuyuan Wen, 2014. "The spillover effect of FDI and its impact on productivity in high economic output regions: A comparative analysis of the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, China," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(2), pages 341-365, June.
    21. Reinhold Kosfeld & Hans-Friedrich Eckey, 2010. "Market access, regional price level and wage disparities: the German case," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 30(2), pages 105-128, September.
    22. Maarten Bosker & Harry Garretsen, 2010. "Trade costs in empirical New Economic Geography," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(3), pages 485-511, August.

    More about this item

    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:hal:journl:hal-00633899. 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.