Does Financial Intermediation Development Increase Per Capita Income in Rural China？

This paper investigates the impacts of financial intermediary （or banking） development on village-level per capita income using a Chinese dataset for selected years between 1993 and 2006. The empirical results from a random effect regression model indicate that mean per capita income in rural villages follows an inverted U-shaped path as financial intermediation develops. However, using a pooled quantile regression approach, we find that median per capita income in rural villages follows a positive linear path, rather than an inverted U-shaped path, as financial intermediation develops. The positive linear effect of financial intermediary development is observed at the lower and higher ends of the conditional per capita income distribution. This suggests that development of financial intermediation in China might not have statistically significant differential effects in low-income or high-income rural villages.     

Provision of Residential Solid Waste Management Service in Rural China

Drawing on a dataset covering a large number of randomly sampled villages across China, the present paper examines the issue of residential solid waste management service provision in rural China, Using a logistic model we evaluate the impacts of different factors on service provision at the village level with regard to residential solid waste disposal. These factors include the environmental pressures caused by residential solid waste generation, the financial capacity of the Villagers＇ Committee, village elections and the individual characteristics of village heads. We find that living density, village per capita income, the ratio of irrigated land, and the per capita profit submitted by village enterprises to the Villagers＇ Committee all have positive impacts on service provision. Moreover, village heads who are popularly elected by villagers are more likely to provide services that satisfy voters＇ demands.     

Regional convergence and migration： The case of Mongolia 1989-2004

This paper investigates the convergence of GDP per capita across Mongolia＇s twenty-two aimags and five regions. According to international and domestic surveys, one third of the Mongolian population is living under the poverty line. Specifically, poverty is deeper in rural areas than in urban areas. Thus, one main objective of economic growth should be reducing the cross-regional income differences and maintaining real long-run per capita income growth. However, in Mongolia there is almost no research on regional economic development and regional income disparities. It is the first time that the speed of convergence to the steady state has been estimated, using a Mongolian cross-regional data set （1989-2004）. The results show that there is convergence across all Mongolian aimags and regions. The speed of convergence towards the steady state position is 3 percent in the Solow model and 4.3 percent in the Ramsey model. That is substantially higher than other convergence studies. The study also finds that migration has played an important role in the evolution of regional disparities.     

Research on the expenditure of Yunnan fiscal on agriculture and its performance

This paper applies stepwise regression to analyze the contribution of Yunnan fiscal expenditure of agriculture to agricultural economy growth and per capita annual income on agriculture of rural inhabitants over the period from 1978 to 2006, and uses Granger causality test to examine the relation of fiscal expenditure and per capita annual income of rural inhabitants and the income differential between urban and rural residents. The results suggest that it is the structure of fiscal expenditure on agriculture rather than the scale that has effect on the income of peasants. Because of the deviation of objectives of fiscal expenditure, the expenditure of agriculture could not narrow the income differential between urban and rural inhabitants.     

Self-employment in Rural China:Its Development,Characteristics,and Relation to Income

Changes in the employment structure in rural China were studied with a focus on off-farm self-employment.Data from the Chinese Household Income Project surveys were used,covering the same 14 provinces from 1988 to 2018.We found that the proportion of adults in rural China with self-employment as their primary form of off-farm employment increased from only 2 percent in 1988 to 11 percent in 2013,with no further increases through 2018.In 1988 and 1995,the rate of self-employment was highest in the eastern region but this regional pattern subsequently disappeared.The probability of being self-employed in rural China was higher among married males than among unmarried persons.Having a migration experience increased the likelihood of being self-employed.Since 1995,self-employed households have had a higher average income than other categories of household.Based on estimates of income functions,we conclude that the income premium from being self-employed increased rapidly from 1988 to 1995 to become remarkably large when only a few adults were self-employed.However,as a larger fraction of the rural population entered self-employment,the payoff from being self-employed has rapidly diminished,although it was still substantial in 2018.     

Population growth and per capita income： A panel cointegration analysis

The noteworthy effects of demographic factors on economic development have been well documented. However, the empirical formulation grounds heavily on theoretical framework. Moreover, there is no set agreement on the relationship between population growth and per capita income. This paper retraces the famous pastime relationship for a sample of thirty-two countries classified as developing and developed over the period of 1970-2007. The methodology includes panel unit root tests and panel cointegration analysis. The main conclusion of the study is that population growth is an indicator of per capita income. The empirical findings display the existence of cointegration for both country groups. Moreover, the results support a significantly positive effect for developed countries; whereas a significantly negative effect for developing countries.     

农村义务教育辍学原因与农户家庭基本情况的关联分析

The main purpose of this paper is concerned about children‘s discontining study in rural areas or dropout phenomena in rural children‘s education, and their relationships with the economic condition of the rural households. The conclusion is that family income, parents‘ education level and structure of family operations have cross-impact on the education of a country child. To reduce the dropout rate of rural children, a key measure is to increase farmer‘s income, but income increase alone is not sufficient. It is argued that reducing dropout is a relatively long-term process that cannot be solved with shot-term government policy adjustment. To increase the rate of junior middle school education in rural areas, an overall economic and social development in rural areas is necessary.     

Urbanization, Rural Land System and Social Security in China

I. IntroductionIn Chinas transition and economic development, temporary migration, lack of basic socialsecurity arrangements for migrants, and frequent administrative land reallocation in ruralareas and abusive rural land requisition in the process of urbanization are all importantpolicy issues both in academic research and on government agenda. Many policyrecommendations have been proposed to solve these issues.As to urbanization and migration in China, the Hukou (urban permanent residentia…     

Does Property Right Transformation Improve Township and Village Enterprises Performance？

I. Introduction The township and village-owned enterprises (TVE) in rural China have ever been both an engine of the Chinese economy and an important contributor to the success of Chinese economic reform. They were established by the township and village authorities in the 1980s to achieve three main purposes: to provide government revenue, to increase ruralresidents’ income, and to create employment opportunities for the tremendous rural surplus labor force. The extent of the achievements…     

Inequality and the Urban-rural Divide in China： Effects of Regressive Taxation

Using three comparable national representative household surveys for China in 1988, 1995 and 2002, the present paper reveals the regressivity and urban bias of China＇s direct tax and welfare system in this period It shows that a regressive taxation system and skewed allocation of subsidies increases the urban-rural income gap and enhances overall inequality. Modeling these relationships indicates that the relatively poorer rural population has a net tax liability, whereas those in the richer urban areas receive net subsidies. This pattern is common in China, although the extent of the bias varies. This skewed system of tax and welfare payments is a major cause of the persisting urban-rural income gap and contributes to the overall income inequality in China. The abolishment of the agriculture tax in 2006 has had a positive impact on rural people ＇s livelihoods.     

Role of Green Governance in Achieving Sustainable Urbanization in China

Since economic reforms began in 1978, China＇s urban population has increased by half a billion. Over the next 20years, cities will likely add another 300 million people through local population growth, migration and the integration of nearby rural areas, Cities account for the majority of resource use and pollution so achieving greener growth will depend on developing and implementing a more sustainable urbanization model. China＇s leaders have responded to these challenges with ambitious goals and comprehensive environmental laws and regulations. These have so far not significantly reduced the harm from air, water and soil pollution.＂ in large measure because China ＂s green governance does not match its green ambitions. Drawing on the World Bank ＇s work on green growth and a recent joint urbanization study by the Development Research Center of China＇s State Council and the Worm Bank, this paper reviews recent academic research on green governance in urban China and discusses its main implications in the context of emerging global green growth concepts.     

Guest Editors’ Introduction

China has entered a new stage of social and economic development,having eliminated absolute poverty by the end of 2020.Common prosperity will be a new goal in this new development stage.There are domestic and international reasons for China to promote common prosperity as a new development goal.Domestically,the reform and opening-up policies over the past 40 years have promoted rapid economic growth and a considerable improvement in Chinese living standards but the problem of unbalanced development has not been solved effectively.This problem is manifested in all aspects of social and economic development,including excessive income inequality and unfair income distribution,regional disparities,a significantly large urban-rural gap,and unequal access to basic public services among different population groups.     

Long-Term Development Trend of China’s Economy and Importance of the Circular Economy

In 2003, China’seconomy grew at a rateof over 9 percent with per capita GDP hittingUS$ 1,090 for the first time, which means that China’s economy and socialdevelopment have entered a high-growth cycle characterized by rapid structuralchanges. However, this round of high growth is based on resources and an ecologicalenvironment completely different from those of twenty five years ago. Based on ananalysis of the new features of future economic development in China, as well as theresource an…     

How Has Rural Tax Reform Affected Farmers and Local Governance in China？

Using nationally representative data, the present paper examines the impact of China's ongoing rural tax reform on farmers. The difficulties in further local governance restructuring are also discussed. It is argued that the issues associated with rural taxation and local governance in China result from inherent tension between an increasingly liberalized economic system and a still centralized political system. Although rural tax reform has helped to reduce farmers' tax burdens in the short term, the establishment of an effective local governance regime requires coordinated reforms to downsize local bureaucracy by providing social security for laid-off cadres, to strengthen local accountability by granting higher local formal tax autonomy, and to promote meaningful participation by expanding local democracy.     

Evaluating the Redistributive Effect of Social Security Programs in China over the Past 30 Years

China has improved its social security system in recent decades,with the aim of achieving universal coverage and improving the equity of income distribution.Based on data from the five rounds of Chinese Household Income Project surveys from 1988 to 2018,this paper examines the long-term redistributive effects of social security programs in China.Our results show that social security programs have reduced income inequality consistently,and the positive redistributive effects have been improving for the past 30 years.Social security transfers have had an increasingly essential role in rural areas,especially after 2002 when China started to establish a comprehensive rural social safety net and expanded the coverage of the social security program.The redistributive efficiency of the social security system has also increased recently.     

People＇s Mobility and Guanxi Networks： A Case Study

The increase in the movement of people from rural to urban areas since the mid-1980s represents the largest labor migration ever experienced in China. Because migration is a process of selection, it is imperative that the major dynamics determining the selection are studied. What are the critical characteristics of migrants that help them to realize their mobility from rural areas to urban areas？ While educational attainment, gender, age, marital status and personal skills are important variables in the selection process, the present paper examines how social networks （guanxi connections） play a significant role in the process of migration selection in China. A case study from one of the northern villages in rural China is used to explore how social networks have shaped and given meaning to migration. The present paper elaborates on how people＇s social mobility has coincided with and been reinforced by people＇s physical mobility.     

Economic Causes and Cures of Social Instability in China

China＇s leaders have often expressed concerns about social instability, viewed as a threat both to the political order and to continued rapid growth. Slower growth might, in turn, further undermine social stability. Using survey data, the present paper examines the economic determinants of social instability. Four main determinants are identified.＇past and expected growth of income, income inequality, economic insecurity and misgovernance. The paper then considers possible policies to reduce social instability, examining each of the determinants in turn.     

Distribution according to technology： A new variable of Solow model

In the process of world economic integration nowadays, the contribution rate of knowledge centering on technology to the economic growth has risen to 80%-90% in some developed countries, and technology has become a core factor deciding the competitiveness of a country or a region. Whether the economy can inspire the technical worker or the owner of a technology will become a key factor to success or failure. The existence of distribution according to technology can fully mobilize enthusiasm of the owners of technical elements, optimize allocation of technical elements, and thereby enhance the competitiveness of an enterprise, a region, or a country. In the case of Solow model, non-reflection of technology progress and reflection of technology progress caused by distribution according to technology have enhanced both the growth rate of national income＇and the growth rate of national income per capita. As a new variable to correct Solow model, the existing of distribution according to technology has laid solid macro-economic theory basis for its own existing.     

Decomposing Income Inequality and Policy Implications in Rural China

Using village data from samples covering 6 provinces,36 counties and 216 townships,the income inequalities within and between townships in rural China are assessed. The Theil index and the mean logarithmic deviation methods enable us to test income inequality at the township level,and to decompose it into intra-regional and inter-regional at county and provincial levels. In the present paper,we also decompose income inequalities between and within the nationally designated poor counties (NDPC). The results show that approximately two-thirds of the income inequality in rural China would be eliminated if measures and policies were targeted at the county level. This study also confirms the rationale that China's poverty alleviation strategy of focusing on poor counties based on the inequalities between NDPC and non-NDPC accounts for the most inter-province inequality.     

Labor Market Reform, Income Inequality and Economic Growth in China

The year 1996 was a turning point both in terms of Chinese labor market reform aria m China＇s economic growth pattern. Before 1996, labor market reform was mainly implemented through adjustment of people＇s occupation and income structure. Since 1996, employment restructuring has led to differentiation in terms of employment status. Labor market reform in the former stage resulted in slow growth in wages, whereas reform in the latter stage enhanced economic efficiency. Both stages have enabled the Chinese economy to apply its comparative advantage of low labor cost. Labor market reform has also increased income disparity and, therefore, new challenges are posed in sustaining economic growth. China needs to adjust its development strategies and introduce labor market reform that can improve income equality, so as to achieve sustainable economic development.