Understanding Income Inequality in China: A Multi-Angle Perspective

Economic reforms have brought about spectacular growth and vast improvements of people’s living standards in China since 1978. In the meantime, unbalanced regional growth and income inequality have become two important concerns of future development. Most available studies on income distribution have either focused on the rural population or on the urban citizens. This paper stresses the importance of adopting a multi-angle approach to fully understand income inequality in China. We first use some top-down information to form a general picture of inequality for the whole country, and then use some bottom-up household survey data to explain in detail the development of inequality over time regarding rural/urban inequality, rural inequality, urban inequality and inter-regional inequality, the relative importance of different income sources to overall inequality. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.  

什么因素在多大程度上影响了居民地区收入差距水平?——基于1987～2005年省际面板数据的分析

在改革发展的进程中,我国居民地区收入差距呈现出阶梯型上升的态势。2006年以来差距程度虽有所下降,但差距仍然过大。居民地区收入差距的拉大是由物质资本、人力资本、政府政策、全球化、城镇化和经济体制改革等诸多因素造成的。本文在实证分析的基础上认为,就各影响因素之的贡献度来看,物质资本因素对于居民地区收入差距具有34.5%的贡献,人力资本、政府政策和全球化因素的贡献度均超过10%,而城镇化和经济体制改革因素的贡献度相对较低。  

Covariate Measurement Error in Quadratic Regression

We consider quadratic regression models where the explanatory variable is measured with error. The effect of classical measurement error is to flatten the curvature of the estimated function. The effect on the observed turning point depends on the location of the true turning point relative to the population mean of the true predictor. Two methods for adjusting parameter estimates for the measurement error are compared. First, two versions of regression calibration estimation are considered. This approximates the model between the observed variables using the moments of the true explanatory variable given its surrogate measurement. For certain models an expanded regression calibration approximation is exact. The second approach uses moment-based methods which require no assumptions about the distribution of the covariates measured with error. The estimates are compared in a simulation study, and used to examine the sensitivity to measurement error in models relating income inequality to the level of economic development. The simulations indicate that the expanded regression calibration estimator dominates the other estimators when its distributional assumptions are satisfied. When they fail, a small-sample modification of the method-of-moments estimator performs best. Both estimators are sensitive to misspecification of the measurement error model.  

Competitive pressures on China: Income inequality and migration

How would perfect competition affect the distribution of income in China? To answer this question, we integrate the two main streams of income distribution theory, namely the functional and the personal income approaches. First, using a general equilibrium model of China comprising 30 sectors and 27 provinces, marginal productivities are used as competitive commodity prices and factor rewards. Second, the rewards are imputed to households using their compositions in terms of persons and factor endowment entitlements. The ensuing distribution is contrasted with the status quo. Less skilled labor would stand to lose and, therefore, inequality would mount. Skilled workers, managers and technicians would move from Western and Central China to Eastern China. These flows would be more than offset by a flow of unskilled labor from Eastern China to Central China. Our finding that Eastern China has too many unskilled workers, relative to the competitive benchmark, suggests that the Harris–Todaro mechanism operates in China. Competition would change the predominant nature of inequality from the rural–urban divide to differences between the social classes. Moreover, the existing negative relationship between development and inequality would evaporate.  

北京市居民收入差距发展规律与结构特征的实证研究

本文选取1985—2007年的时间序列数据,对23年间北京市居民的收入差距演变规律进行分析,侧重于城镇居民收入差距、农村居民收入差距、以及城乡居民收入差距三个层次,并在对时间序列数据分析基础上,对收入差距的发展趋势进行判断。研究认为,北京市居民收入差距变化大致经历了三个阶段,即差距较小—差距扩大—差距稳中有降;居民收入差距一直存在,但以1993年为节点,之后出现大幅度上升态势;2003—2007年,居民收入差距整体呈现稳中有降的趋势,但降幅不大。对收入差距内部结构的分析显示,23年间,城镇居民收入差距水平小于农村居民收入差距。  

Does corruption affect income inequality and poverty?

This paper provides evidence that high and rising corruption increases income inequality and poverty. An increase of one standard deviation in corruption increases the Gini coefficient of income inequality by about 11 points and income growth of the poor by about 5 percentage points per year. These findings are robust to use of different instruments for corruption and other sensitivity analyses. The paper discusses several channels through which corruption may affect income inequality and poverty. An important implication of these findings is that policies that reduce corruption will most likely reduce income inequality and poverty as well. Received: March 2, 2000 / Accepted: September 20, 2001  

城市居民财产性收入与贫富差距的实证分析

利用1988～2009年国家统计局全国入户调查数据,本文研究了我国城市居民财产性收入的规模、组成、变化以及其对收入差距的贡献。采用基尼系数的分解方法,将每年的收入差距分解到各个收入成分的贡献,并发现与其他收入形式相比,财产性收入分布的基尼系数是最高的,对总收入差距的贡献也在迅速扩大,这一现象值得重视。本文还分别对东、中、西部地区进行了分析,发现财产性收入主要集中在东部地区。  

新型农村合作医疗的减贫、增收和再分配效果研究

本文使用2003~2006年覆盖全国30个省区的微观面板数据,对新型农村合作医疗的减贫、增收和再分配效果进行了评估。结果表明:新农合的减贫效果明显,不仅能在农户层面上显著降低贫困发生概率,而且能在省区层面上显著降低贫困率;新农合能显著促进低收入和中等收入农民增收,但需要有利的外部经济环境作为支持条件;新农合能显著降低村庄内部的收入分配不均等程度,但对省区范围内的农民收入分配状况没有产生显著影响。  

劳动力跨部门配置与居民收入差距——基于省级面板数据的实证分析

本文从劳动力跨部门配置效应的角度,分析了我国劳动力跨部门配置的时期和地区特征,使用面板数据模型估计了我国劳动力转移对城乡居民收入差距的作用。结果表明,在改革开放的后一阶段,我国劳动力转移的收入分配均等化效应下降,且西部地区下降更加显著。而收入均等化效应下降的一个重要原因是各次产业部门间生产率差距扩大。文章指出产业协调发展是提高劳动力转移收入分配效应的迫切要求。  

直接影响与空间溢出效应:我国城市化进程对城乡收入差距的影响路径识别

本文选取2000～2009年间我国31个省、直辖市和自治区的面板数据,通过选择恰当的空间面板计量模型(Spatial Panel Model)实证研究本地城市化进程对城乡收入差距的直接影响,以及相邻地区城市化进程对本地城乡收入差距的空间溢出效应。实证结果表明:我国城市化进程对缩减城乡收入差距的积极影响和消极影响并存,取决于城市化进程的不同政策路径选择;省际间的城市化进程存在空间溢出效应,即本地的城乡收入差距也会受到临近省份城市化进程的显著影响。