Journal
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE ECONOMICS
Volume 49, Issue 2, Pages 467-482Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2020.10.001
Keywords
Chinese inequality turnaround; Inequality; Inequality trends; Inequality and structural transformation; Harmonious development and government; policy
Categories
Funding
- China Natural Science Foundation [71874008, 71950011]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This paper argues that Chinese inequality is now plateauing and possibly declining, contradicting the previous trend of sharp increase. Drawing upon various data sources and perspectives, the paper analyzes the evolution of inequality and provides preliminary explanations for the observed trends. By relating the turnaround to classic phenomena in development economics literature, the paper suggests that the evolution of Chinese inequality may follow certain patterns.
This paper argues that after a quarter century of sharp and sustained increase, Chinese inequality is now plateauing and, according to some measures, even declining. A number of papers have been harbingers of this conclusion, but this paper consolidates the literature indicating a turnaround, and provides empirical foundations for it. The argument is made using a range of data sources and a range of measures and perspectives on inequality. The evolution of inequality is further examined through decomposition by income source and population subgroup. Some preliminary explanations are provided for these trends in terms of shifts in policy and the structural transformation of the Chinese economy. We relate the turnaround to two classic phenomena in the development economics literature-the Lewis turning point and the Kuznets turning point. The plateauing is not yet a full blown decline, and there are short term variations. But the narrative on Chinese inequality now needs to accommodate the possibility of a turnaround in inequality, and to focus on the reasons for this turnaround.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available