Characteristics of Inter-regional Income Disparities in China

Abstract

Abstract 在地区收入差距的文献中, 一直缺乏从个人收入角度出发的研究; 而关于个人收 入分配的研究, 也很少考察地区差异。文章使用2005年全国1%人口普查数据, 从个 人收入角度描述了全国及 (几种不同定义下的) 地区间的个人收入差距, 并分析了影 响个人收入差距的因素, 得到了一些有意义的结果。 关键词: 个人收入分配 地区差距 The literature on regional disparities in China rarely analyzes individual income. Similarly, most research on individual income inequality does not take regional differences into account. Using data from the 2005 One Percent National Population Sample Survey, this paper describes income inequality at the national level and among (variously defined) regions from the angle of individual income, and analyzes factors affecting income inequality. Keywords: individual income distributionregional disparities Notes * This article is part of the outcome of the research project “Reducing Income Disparities and Establishing an Equitable System of Income Distribution” headed by Professor Li Shi and sponsored by the Population Division of the National Bureau of Statistics of China, and also supported by Chinese National Social Science Fund (Project Name: The Reformation of Income Distribution institution and Social Equity; No. 06&ZD014). The author is grateful to Professor Li’s detailed suggestions. 1Wei Houkai and Liu Kai, “Analysis of and Forecasts for Changing Trends in Regional Differences.” 2Guan Weihua et al., “Multi-dimensional Analysis of Regional Differences in Economic Development in China.” 3B. Gustafsson and Li Shi, “Income Inequality Within and Across Counties in Rural China, 1988 and 1995.” 4 Li Shi, “Review of and Prospects for Individual Income Distribution in China”; Li Shi and Zhao Renwei, “Marketization Reforms and the Widening of Income Differences.” 5Li Shi, “Review of and Prospects for Individual Income Distribution in China.” 6For example, since the early 1990s, the following feature has been observable in regional income disparities: income disparities between East, Central and West China have grown, but inter-provincial income disparities within these regions have narrowed. On the basis of the former, one would conclude that regional income disparities have been widening; on the basis of the latter, that they have narrowed (see Li Shi, “Review of and Prospects for Individual Income Distribution in China”). 7The labor income of private employers or the self-employed refers to their net income from production or the operation of their business. The income of unpaid family labor is counted as 0. 8Zhao Renwei and Keith Griffin, “The Income Distribution of Chinese Residents.” 9Zhao Renwei, Li Shi and Carl Riskin, eds., A Reexamination of Income Distribution of Chinese Residents. 10East China includes Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Guangdong and Hainan. Central China includes Heilongjiang, Jilin, Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei and Hunan. And West China includes Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Guangxi, and Inner Mongolia. 11Rural and urban residents are classified according to place of registration (hukou). “Urban residents” refers to those with non-agricultural registration and “rural residents” refers to those with agricultural registration. 12Li Shi, “Review of and Prospects for Individual Income Distribution in China.” 13Rural Social and Economic Survey Group, National Bureau of Statistics of China, Rural Household Survey Yearbook, p. 29. 14A.R. Khan and Carl Riskin, “Income and Inequality in China—Composition, Distribution and Growth of Household Income, 1988-1995.” 15In Beijing, the districts of Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chongwen, Xuanwu, Chaoyang, Fengtai, Shijingshan, Haidian, Mentougou, Fangshan, Tongzhou, Shunyi, Changping, Daxing, Huairou and Pinggu are considered as one group, and counties of Miyun and Yanqing as another. (2) In Tianjin, the districts of Heping, Hedong, Hexi, Nankai, Hebei, Hongqiao, Tanggu, Hangu, Dagang, Dongli, Xiqing, Jinnan, Beichen, Wuqing and Baodi are considered as one group, and the counties of Ninghe, Jinghai and Jixian as another. (3) In Shanghai,the districts of Huangpu, Luwan, Xuhui, Changning, Jing’an, Putuo, Zhabei, Hongkou, Yangpu, Minhang, Baoshan, Jiading, Pudong, Jinshan, Songjiang, Qingpu, Nanhui and Fengxian are considered as one group, and Chongming county as another. (4) In Hubei, the administrative units of Xiantao, Qianjiang, Tianmen and Shennongjia Forest Zone are considered as one prefectural-level city.(5) In Hainan province, the province-controlled county-level administrative units of Wuzhishan, Qionghai, Danzhou, Wenchang, Wanning, Dongfang, Ding’an, Tunchang, Chengmai, Lingao, Baisha Li Autonomous County, Changjiang Li Autonomous County, Ledong Li Autonomous County, Lingshui Li Autonomous County, Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County, the Xisha, Nansha and Zhongsha Islands and waters around them are considered as one prefectural-level city. (6) In Chongqing, the districts of Wanzhou, Fuling, Yuzhong, Dadukou, Jiangbei, Shapingba, Jiulongpo, Nan’an, Beibei, Wansheng, Shuangqiao, Yubei, Banan, Qianjiang and Changshou are considered as one group, the counties of Qijiang, Tongnan, Tongliang, Dazu, Rongchang, Bishan, Liangping, Chengkou, Fengdu, Dianjiang, Wulong, Zhongxian, Kaixian, Yunyang, Fengjie, Wushan, Wuxi, and Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County, Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County and Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County as another group and the cities of Jiangjin, Hechuan, Yongchuan and Nanchuan as another. The same applies below. 16B. Gustafsson and Li Shi, “Inequality in China at the End of the 1980s: Locational Aspects and Household Characteristics.” 17B. Gustafsson and Li Shi, “A More Unequal China?”