Economic policy and income distribution in China

"Using the Kakwani interpolation method to reconstruct rural and urban size distributions, the authors present Lorenz curve estimates for Chinese income distribution by period, 1952-1986. The level of inequality is one of the lowest in the world. The change in inequality over time conforms to the experience of other less-developed countries. Although rural inequality increased after 1978, national inequality fell, due to a reduction in the rural-urban income gap."