The Inverted U-shaped Curve between Chinese Urban-Rural Income Inequality and Urbanization Rate

Abstract

Abstract:

Practitioners and theorists have concerned how the urbanization rate influences the urban-rural inequality in China, so this study establishes an economic theory model between the Theil index and the urbanization rate under the hypothesis that the whole society consists of urban sector and rural sector. With the Theil index as the measure indicator of the urban-rural inequality in China, this paper reaches the conclusion that there exists an inverted U-shaped curve relationship and analyses specifically the conclusion in the framework of the maximizing utility; then, the paper makes an empirical analysis after computing the Theil index and the urbanization rate through integrating the time series data and provincial panel data of 1995-2012, and draws the same conclusion between an empirical analysis and the theoretical analysis. In short, this study analyzes the inverted U-shaped curve between the urbanization rate and the Chinese urban-rural inequality from both theoretical and empirical perspectives in order to prove that taking a new urbanization path of development to reduce the Chinese urban-rural inequality is an inevitable choice.

Key words: urban-rural inequality in China, urbanization rate, inverted U-shaped curve, Theil index

Yang Senping, Tang Fenfen, Wu Xu. The Inverted U-shaped Curve between Chinese Urban-Rural Income Inequality and Urbanization Rate[J]. , 2015, 27(11): 3-10.

References

[1] Lewis W. A. Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labor[J]. The Manchester School, 1954:139-191
[2] Kuznets. Simon1 Economic Growth and Income Inequality[J]. The American Economic Review, 1955,45(1):1-28
[3] Robinson. A Note on the U Hypo Thesis Income Inequality and Economic Development[J]. The American Economic Review, 1976,166:437-440
[4] Gustafsson B., Li S. Income Inequality within and across Counties in Rural China 1988 and 1995[J]. Journal of Development Economics, 2002,69(1):179-204
[5] Gustafsson B., Ding S., Rank. Income and Income Inequality in Urban China[J]. China Economic Review, 2009,20(1):497-507
[6] Goh C. C., Luo X. B., Zhu N. Income Growth, Inequality and Poverty Reduction:A Case Study of Eight Provinces in China[J]. China Economic Review, 2009,20(3):485-496
[7] Lin J. Y., Chen B. Urbanization and Urban-Rural Inequality in China:A New Perspective from the Government's Development Strategy[J]. Frontiers of Economics in China, 2011,6(1):1-21
[8] Hertel T., Fan Z. Labor Market Distortions, Rural-Urban Inequality and the Opening of China's Economy[J]. Economic Modelling, 2006,23(1):76-109
[9] Wang Z. X., Smyth R., Huang Y. G. A New Ordered Family of Lorenz Curves with an Application to Measuring Income Inequality and Poverty in Rural China[J]. China Economic Review, 2009,20(2):218-235
[10] Song H., Thisse J. F., Zhu X. Urbanization and/or Rural Industrialization in China[J]. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2012,42(1):126-134
[11] 姚耀军.金融发展、城市化与城乡收入差距——协整分析及其Granger因果检验[J].中国农村观察, 2005,(2):2-8
[12] 朱孔来,李静静.中国城镇化进程和经济增长关系的实证研究[J].统计研究, 2011,(9):80-85
[13] 傅振邦,陈先勇.城市化、产业结构变动与城乡收入差距[J].中南财经政法大学学报, 2012,(6):8-14
[14] 毛其淋.经济开放、城市化水平与城乡收入差距——基于中国省际面板数据的经验研[J].浙江社会科学, 2011,(1):11-21
[15] 周云波.城市化、城乡差距以及全国居民总体收入差距的变动——收入差距倒U型假说的实证检验[J].经济学(季刊), 2009,(4):1241-1243
[16] 莫亚琳,张志超.城市化进程、公共财政支出与社会收入分配[J].数量经济技术经济研究, 2011,(3):70-87.
[17] 李权葆,薛欣.城乡基尼系数测算与收入分配差距分析——基于CHNS的实证研究[J].管理评论, 2013,25(3):82-89.
[18] 贺建风,刘建平.城市化、对外开放与城乡收入差距——基于VAR模型的实证分析[J].技术经济与管理研究, 2010,(4):16-19
[19] 李尚蒲,罗必良.城乡收入差距与城市化战略选择[J].农业经济问题, 2012,(8):37-42
[20] 陆铭,陈钊.城市化、城市倾向的经济政策与城乡收入差距[J].经济研究, 2004,(6):52-53
[21] 曹裕,陈晓红,马跃如.城市化、城乡收入差距与经济增长——基于我国省级面板数据的实证研究[J].统计研究, 2010,(3):29-36
[22] Sakamoto R., Fan J. Regional Income Disparity in China Using Value-Added Data:Decomposition and Distribution Dynamics[J]. Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies, 2013,25(1):16-33
[23] David J. P. American Income Inequality across Economic and Geographic Space,1970-2010[J]. Social Science Research, 2013,42(6):1490-1504