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Urbanization, Structural Transformation and Rural-Urban Disparities in China and India

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Abstract

Over the past three decades India and China have experienced rapid growth and structural transformation. Underneath this similarity however was one significant difference: rural-urban wage gaps declined in India, but widened in China. In both countries, the majority of these wage dynamics are unexplained by worker attributes. We formalize a two-sector-two-location model in which structural transformation and urbanization respond endogenously to productivity shocks. While the structural transformation effect widens the urban-rural wage gap, the urbanization effect reduces it. We attribute the contrasting wage gap dynamics in the two countries to the higher costs of urban relocation for workers in China.

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  • Viktoria Hnatkovska, Chenyu (Sev) Hou and Amartya Lahiri, 2023. "Urbanization, Structural Transformation and Rural-Urban Disparities in China and India," Discussion Papers dp23-14, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.
    • Handle: RePEc:sfu:sfudps:dp23-14
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    1. Piyush Tiwari & Jyoti Rao & Jennifer Day, 2016. "Development Paradigms for Urban Housing in BRICS Countries," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-44610-7, May.
    2. Douglas Gollin & Stephen Parente & Richard Rogerson, 2002. "The Role of Agriculture in Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 160-164, May.
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