China has experienced rapid economic growth over the past two decades and is on the brink of eradicating poverty. However, income inequality increased sharply from the early 1980s and rendered China among the most unequal countries in the world. This trend has started to reverse as China has experienced a modest decline in inequality since 2008. This paper identifies various drivers behind these trends – including structural changes such as urbanization and aging and, more recently, policy initiatives to combat it. It finds that policies will need to play an important role in curbing inequality in the future, as projected structural trends will put further strain on equity considerations. In particular, fiscal policy reforms have the potential to enhance inclusiveness and equity, both on the tax and expenditure side.

This book examines the evolution of economic inequality in China from 2002 to 2007; a sequel to Inequality and Public Policy in China (2008).

This volume provides comprehensive updated coverage of inequality and poverty issues in China. Some of the methodologies developed herein are published for the first time and may be used in other contexts and for other countries. The use of different data sources and state-of-art research techniques ensures that the findings and conclusions can be substantiated and that the policy recommendations are reliable and robust. Contributors to this volume are renowned experts in their respective areas, including, notably, Justin Lin, Xing Meng, Kai-yuen Tsui, and Guanghua Wan. For these reasons, those with an interest in income distribution in general and China's development in particular, will find this volume essential reading. Rapidly rising inequality in China has contributed to the sluggishness of domestic demand and emerging poverty. It has thus exerted considerable pressure for commodity exports and represents a root cause of increased trade disputes. These have profound ramifications for the US, EU, and other economies, and the international business community. Consequently, economists and sociologists, among others, are increasingly focused upon inequality and poverty issues in China and relevant policy implications. This volume, arising from a two-year UNU-WIDER project, addresses issues that include the inequality-growth relationship, regional/personal variation in incomes and human well-being such as education, the determinants of inequality and poverty or their changes, gaps in innovation capability, and the role played by China's development strategies in affecting inequality.

The world at large is watching both China and India as powerhouses of economic growth. The two nations have achieved significantly high rates of economic growth ever since their respective economies liberalized in 1978 and 1991. Singapore, despite its limited land size and almost total dependence on external trade, has performed remarkably well and has moved from the third world to the first. This book documents and explains the rapid economic growth of the three key Asian economies.The book also looks at what has happened to income inequality in the context of superior growth performance. It makes comparative assessments and examines the implications for the three nations. Since free markets have nothing in them to produce a reduction in income inequality among persons/households, one must at best hope for equality of opportunity notably reflected in identical schooling for all; identical health care for all; and minimal rather than vulgar inequality in housing. This book is particularly useful for both China and India which may wish to study and learn from Singapore in regard to the policies, programmes and projects aimed at ensuring equality of opportunity. The book is backed by considerable expertise on the part of the researchers, with demonstrated expertise through their publications spawning a few decades. It is invaluable to those who are concerned with designing policies for developing countries aimed at rapid and inclusive economic growth.This book has been made possible by the intellectual and financial support extended by the Global Asia Institute, National University of Singapore.

As regional inequality looms large in the policy debate in China, this volume brings together a selection of papers from authors whose work has had real impact on policy, so that researchers and policy makers can have access to them in one place.

This volume examines trends in inequality in the People's Republic of China. It contains findings on inequality nationwide, as well as within the rural and urban sectors, with an emphasis on public policy considerations. Several chapters focus on inequality of income; others analyse poverty, inequality in wealth, and the distribution of wages. Attention is given to groups such as migrants, women, and the elderly, as well as the relationship between income and health care funding and the impact of the rural tax reform. All contributors to this volume make use of a large, nationwide survey of Chinese households, the product of long-term co-operation between Chinese and international researchers that is unique in its scope and duration. Using these data, the contributors examine changes in inequality from 1988 to 2002.

China's rise as an economic powerhouse raises a number of questions that are the subject of lively debate. How did the country do it? How applicable are the lessons of China's economic reform of the past thirty years to the challenges it faces in the next three decades? What does the detailed pattern of China's success and challenges look like at the sub-sectoral and sub-national levels, and what does this mean for future policy? How will China's role as a global economic player evolve? The Oxford Companion to the Economics of China presents an original collection of perspectives on the Chinese economy's past, present, and future: 99 entries written by the leading China analysts of our time. The topics covered include: the China model, future prospects for China , China and the global economy, trade and the Chinese economy, macroeconomics and finance, urbanisation, industry and markets, agriculture and rural development, land, infrastructure, and environment, population and labour, dimensions of wellbeing and inequality, health and education, gender equity, regional divergence in China, and a selection of perspectives on some of China's provinces. The Editors are four global leaders in Chinese economic analysis and policy who between them have held or hold the following positions: Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute; Co-Editor, China Economic Review; President Chinese Economists Society; Assistant Director of Research at the IMF; Principal Adviser to the Chief Economist of the World Bank; and Professors of Economics at Ivy League Universities.