Changing Trends in China's Inequality

Evidence, Analysis, and Prospects

Edited by Terry Sicular, Shi Li, Ximing Yue, and Hiroshi Sato

The latest of a series of influential, widely read studies on incomes and inequality in China based on a unique, long-running Chinese household survey project
Provides objective, independent analyses by respected experts on the Chinese economy
Presents an integrated, comprehensive, and cohesive picture of recent data

Changing Trends in China's Inequality

Evidence, Analysis, and Prospects

Edited by Terry Sicular, Shi Li, Ximing Yue, and Hiroshi Sato

Description

Over the past quarter-century China has seen a dramatic increase in income inequality, prompting a shift in China's development strategy and the adoption of an array of new policies to redistribute income, promote shared growth, and establish a social safety net. Drawing on of household-level data from the China Household Income Project, Changing Trends in China's Inequality provides an independent, comprehensive, and empirically grounded study of the evolution of incomes and inequality in China over time. Edited by leading experts on the Chinese economy, the volume analyzes this evolution in China as a whole as well as in the urban and rural sectors, with close attention to measurement issues and to shifts in the economy, institutions, and public policy. Specific essays provides analyses of China's wealth inequality, the emergence of a new middle class, the income gap between the Han majority and the ethnic minorities, the gender wage gap, and the impacts of government policies such as social welfare programs and the minimum wage.

Changing Trends in China's Inequality

Evidence, Analysis, and Prospects

Edited by Terry Sicular, Shi Li, Ximing Yue, and Hiroshi Sato

Chapter 1. Changing Trends in China's Inequality: Key Issues and Main Findings
Terry Sicular, Shi Li, Ximing Yue, and Hiroshi Sato
Chapter 2. Overview: Incomes and Inequality in China, 2007-2013
Chuliang Luo, Terry Sicular, and Shi Li
Chapter 3. China's Emerging Global Middle Class
Björn Gustafsson, Terry Sicular, and Xiuna Yang
Chapter 4. The Increasing Inequality of Wealth in China
John Knight, Shi Li, and Haiyuan Wan
Chapter 5. Social Policy Reforms and Economic Distances in China
Qin Gao, Sui Yang, Fuhua Zhai, and Yake Wang
Chapter 6. Public Policy and Long-Term Trends in Inequality in Rural China
Hisatoshi Hoken and Hiroshi Sato
Chapter 7. New Patterns in China's Rural Poverty
Shi Li, Peng Zhan, and Yangyang Shen
Chapter 8. Unequal Growth: Long-term Trends in Household Incomes and Poverty in Urban China
Björn Gustafsson and Sai Ding
Chapter 9. Consumption Inequality in Urban China
Qingjie Xia, Shi Li, and Lina Song
Chapter 10. Income and Poverty Gaps between Han and Ethnic Minorities in Rural China
Xiaomin Liu and Lidan Lyu
Chapter 11. China's Urban Gender Wage Gap: A New Direction?
Jin Song, Terry Sicular, and Björn Gustafsson
Chapter 12. The Effects of the Minimum Wage Policy on the Wage Distribution in Urban China: Evidence from the CHIP Data
Xinxin Ma and Shi Li

Changing Trends in China's Inequality

Evidence, Analysis, and Prospects

Edited by Terry Sicular, Shi Li, Ximing Yue, and Hiroshi Sato

Author Information

Edited by Terry Sicular, Professor of Economics, University of Western Ontario, Shi Li, Professor of Economics, Beijing Normal University, Ximing Yue, Professor of Economics, Renmin University of China, and Hiroshi Sato, Vice President of Hitotsubashi University and Prodessor of Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University

Terry Sicular is Professor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario. She has been conducting research on China's economy since the 1980s. Her current research focuses on topics related to income distribution and poverty in China. Since 2000 she has been a lead member of the China Household Income Project (CHIP).

Shi Li is Professor at the School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, and Acting Director of the Institute for Income Distribution at Beijing Normal University. He is one of China's leading experts on economic inequality and poverty in China and has published widely on the topic. He participated in the 1988 and 1995 China Household Income Project (CHIP) surveys and since 2000 has been the lead member of the CHIP surveys.

Ximing Yue is Professor of Economics at the School of Finance, the Renmin University of China. He has published extensively in Chinese, English and Japanese. He is currently working on income distribution, rural poverty, and local public

Ximing Yue is Professor of Economics at the School of Finance, the Renmin University of China. He has published extensively in Chinese, English and Japanese. He is currently working on income distribution, rural poverty, and local public finance in China. He participated in the 2002, 2007, and 2013 China Household Income Project (CHIP) surveys.

Hiroshi Sato is Vice President of Hitotsubashi University and Professor of the Graduate School of Economics at Hitotsubashi University. His research work has appeared in Japanese, English and Chinese publications. His research interests include inequality, poverty, the quality of life, governance, and public policy in contemporary China. He participated in the 2002, 2007, and 2013 China Household Income Project (CHIP) surveys.

Contributors:

Sai DING, Professor, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Qin GAO, Professor, School of Social Work, Columbia University

Björn GUSTAFSSON, Professor, Department of Social Work, University of Götenburg; Research Fellow, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Hisatoshi HOKEN, Professor, School of International Studies, Kwansei Gakuin University

John KNIGHT, Visiting Professor, Department of Economics, Business School, Beijing Normal University; Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Oxford

Shi LI, Professor, Department of Economics, Business School, Beijing Normal University; Acting Director, China Institute for Income Distribution; Research Fellow, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Xiaomin LIU, Associate Professor, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Chuliang LUO, Professor, Department of Economics, Business School, Beijing Normal University

Lidan LYU, Assistant Professor, Department of Demography, Renmin University of China

Xinxin MA, Associate Professor, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University

Hiroshi SATO, Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University

Yangyang SHEN, Research Officer, Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative; Department of International Development, Oxford University; Post-Doctoral Researcher, Beijing Normal University

Terry SICULAR, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Western Ontario

Jin SONG, Associate Professor, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Lina SONG, Professor, Business School, University of Nottingham

Haiyuan WAN, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Business School, Beijing Normal University

Yake WANG, Professor, School of Insurance and Economics, University of International Business and Economics

Qingjie XIA, Professor, School of Economics, Peking University

Sui YANG, Assistant Professor, Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Xiuna YANG, Program Officer, China Development Research Foundation

Ximing YUE, Professor, School of Finance, Renmin University of China

Fuhua ZHAI, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Social Service, Fordham University

Peng ZHAN, Assistant Professor, School of Economics, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics

Changing Trends in China's Inequality

Evidence, Analysis, and Prospects

Edited by Terry Sicular, Shi Li, Ximing Yue, and Hiroshi Sato

Reviews and Awards

"Through the full utilisation of the wealth of CHIP data, the volume investigates a wide-range of income distribution issues and provides a nuanced discussion of multiple dimensions of economic inequality during the Hu-Wen era. The findings provide important insights into the historical trajectory of inequality in China, which can inform current policy debates aimed at narrowing the income divide" - Yei-Whei Lin, Journal of Human Development and Capabilities

"This volume is a must-read for scholars interested in social and economic policies in China and Chinese social dynamics in general. With every chapter providing elaborate but accessible methodological discussions, the book also offers a prospectus of measures and methods to early-stage researchers in the field of inequality studies." - Maarten Loopmans, Eurasian Geography and Economics