Changing Trends in China's Inequality Evidence, Analysis, and Prospects

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.

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 of Economics in the School of Economics and Business 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 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.

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
Bj?rn 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
Bj?rn 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 Bj?rn 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