IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v71y2021icp164-179.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spatial inequality of inclusive wealth in China and Japan

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Bingqi
  • Nozawa, Wataru
  • Managi, Shunsuke

Abstract

Sustainable development requires a nondeclining growth of the productive base or comprehensive wealth of an economy. We use the concept of inclusive wealth (IW) to assess national wealth and sustainability. IW comprises natural, human, and produced capital. With multisource data and GIS technology, this study created a pixel-level IW database for China and Japan in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015. Using the high-resolution data, we first conducted a multiscalar analysis of the spatiotemporal pattern of IW and investigated the contributions of component capital to IW change. Then, we employed the decomposition of the Theil and Gini indices to explore the spatial wealth inequality and its driving forces. The multiscalar analysis reveals that sustainability evaluation in terms of IW is sensitive to geographical scales and that the contributions of capital types to IW growth are spatially heterogeneous. Although national IW increases in China and Japan, certain regions lose wealth within the country, and the proportion of those unsustainable areas increases as the analysis unit gets smaller. According to the inequality analysis, the spatial distribution of wealth is highly imbalanced with a substantial urban–rural divide and coastal-inland gap in both countries, and the total wealth inequality and these gaps widen from 2000 to 2015. China is experiencing significant structural changes in wealth composition. In particular, the structural shift to produced capital, for which the distribution is the most uneven, dominates the increasing trend of wealth inequality in China. In Japan, the wealth structure is stable, while depopulation in rural areas and the concentration of human capital in metropolises enhance spatial wealth inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Bingqi & Nozawa, Wataru & Managi, Shunsuke, 2021. "Spatial inequality of inclusive wealth in China and Japan," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 164-179.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:71:y:2021:i:c:p:164-179
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2021.04.014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592621000631
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2021.04.014?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Suresh Babu, M. & Bhaskaran, Vandana & Venkatesh, Manasa, 2016. "Does inequality hamper long run growth? Evidence from Emerging Economies," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 99-113.
    2. Thomas Piketty & Li Yang & Gabriel Zucman, 2019. "Capital Accumulation, Private Property, and Rising Inequality in China, 1978–2015," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(7), pages 2469-2496, July.
    3. David Castells-Quintana & Vicente Royuela, 2014. "Agglomeration, inequality and economic growth," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 52(2), pages 343-366, March.
    4. Lessmann, Christian, 2014. "Spatial inequality and development — Is there an inverted-U relationship?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 35-51.
    5. Arrow, Kenneth J. & Dasgupta, Partha & Goulder, Lawrence H. & Mumford, Kevin J. & Oleson, Kirsten, 2012. "Sustainability and the measurement of wealth," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(3), pages 317-353, June.
    6. Armida Alisjahbana & Takahiro Akita, 2020. "Economic Tertiarization and Regional Income Inequality in a Decentralized Indonesia: A Bi-dimensional Inequality Decomposition Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 51-80, August.
    7. Guang, Fengtao & He, Yongxiu & Wen, Le & Sharp, Basil, 2019. "Energy intensity and its differences across China’s regions: Combining econometric and decomposition analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 989-1000.
    8. Wan, Guang Hua, 2001. "Changes in regional inequality in rural China: decomposing the Gini index by income sources," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 45(3), pages 1-21.
    9. Sukkoo Kim, 2008. "Spatial Inequality and Economic Development," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28050.
    10. William Alonso, 1980. "Five Bell Shapes In Development," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 5-16, January.
    11. Sagiri KITAO & Tomoaki YAMADA, 2019. "Dimensions of Inequality in Japan: Distributions of Earnings, Income and Wealth between 1984 and 2014," Discussion papers 19034, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    12. Shorrocks, A F, 1982. "Inequality Decomposition by Factor Components," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(1), pages 193-211, January.
    13. Ben Gardiner & Ron Martin & Peter Tyler, 2011. "Does spatial agglomeration increase national growth? some evidence from Europe," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(6), pages 979-1006, November.
    14. Eli P. Fenichel & Simon A. Levin & Bonnie McCay & Kevin St. Martin & Joshua K. Abbott & Malin L. Pinsky, 2016. "Wealth reallocation and sustainability under climate change," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(3), pages 237-244, March.
    15. Estrada, Mario Arturo Ruiz & Park, Donghyun, 2019. "The Application of the Gross City Development Index (GCD-Index) in Tokyo, Japan," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 37-46.
    16. Amos, Orley Jr., 1988. "Unbalanced regional growth and regional income inequality in the latter stages of development," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 549-566, November.
    17. Sergio J. Rey & Mark V. Janikas, 2005. "Regional convergence, inequality, and space," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(2), pages 155-176, April.
    18. Demurger, Sylvie, 2001. "Infrastructure Development and Economic Growth: An Explanation for Regional Disparities in China?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 95-117, March.
    19. Cheong, Tsun Se & Wu, Yanrui, 2014. "The impacts of structural transformation and industrial upgrading on regional inequality in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 339-350.
    20. Robi Kurniawan & Shunsuke Managi, 2019. "Linking Wealth and Productivity of Natural Capital for 140 Countries Between 1990 and 2014," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(1), pages 443-462, January.
    21. Xiaolei Qian & Russell Smyth, 2008. "Measuring regional inequality of education in China: widening coast-inland gap or widening rural-urban gap?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(2), pages 132-144.
    22. Anthony Shorrocks & Guanghua Wan, 2005. "Spatial decomposition of inequality," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(1), pages 59-81, January.
    23. Fujita, Masahisa & Mori, Tomoya & Henderson, J. Vernon & Kanemoto, Yoshitsugu, 2004. "Spatial distribution of economic activities in Japan and China," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 65, pages 2911-2977, Elsevier.
    24. Chen, Jiandong & Xu, Chong & Cui, Lianbiao & Huang, Shuo & Song, Malin, 2019. "Driving factors of CO2 emissions and inequality characteristics in China: A combined decomposition approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 589-597.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ponce, Pablo & Yunga, Fernando & Larrea-Silva, Jhohana & Aguirre, Nikolay, 2023. "Spatial determinants of income inequality at the global level: The role of natural resources," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    2. Tiejun Dai & Fubin Shi, 2023. "Research on differences and influencing factors of inclusive green development in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 13(3), pages 1-1.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rey, Sergio, 2015. "Bells in Space: The Spatial Dynamics of US Interpersonal and Interregional Income Inequality," MPRA Paper 69482, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Alfonso Díez‐Minguela & Rafael González‐Val & Julio Martinez‐Galarraga & M. Teresa Sanchis & Daniel A. Tirado, 2020. "The long‐term relationship between economic development and regional inequality: South‐West Europe, 1860–2010," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(3), pages 479-508, June.
    3. Shengjun Zhu & Canfei He & Xinming Xia, 2019. "Geography of productivity: evidence from China’s manufacturing industries," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 62(1), pages 141-168, February.
    4. Iris Claus & Les Oxley & Chen Wang & Guanghua Wan & Dan Yang, 2014. "Income Inequality In The People'S Republic Of China: Trends, Determinants, And Proposed Remedies," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 686-708, September.
    5. Guanghua Wan & Zhangyue Zhou, 2005. "Income Inequality in Rural China: Regression‐based Decomposition Using Household Data," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(1), pages 107-120, February.
    6. Luis Ayala & Javier Martín‐Román & Juan Vicente, 2020. "The contribution of the spatial dimension to inequality: A counterfactual analysis for OECD countries," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(3), pages 447-477, June.
    7. Sauter, Caspar & Grether, Jean-Marie & Mathys, Nicole A., 2016. "Geographical spread of global emissions: Within-country inequalities are large and increasing," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 138-149.
    8. Hongyao Wei & Zhengyi Yang, 2022. "The Impact of Inheritance on the Distribution of Wealth: Evidence from China," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(1), pages 234-262, March.
    9. Jing Li & Tsun Se Cheong & Jianfa Shen & Dahai Fu, 2019. "Urbanization And Rural–Urban Consumption Disparity: Evidence From China," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(04), pages 983-996, September.
    10. Olga Alonso-Villar & Coral Del R�o, 2008. "Geographical Concentration of Unemployment: A Male-Female Comparison in Spain," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(3), pages 401-412, April.
    11. Sébastien Breau & Annie Lee, 2023. "The evolution of the Kuznets curve in Canada," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 102(4), pages 709-735, August.
    12. Panagiotis Artelaris, 2021. "Regional economic growth and inequality in Greece," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 141-158, February.
    13. Lessmann, Christian & Seidel, André, 2017. "Regional inequality, convergence, and its determinants – A view from outer space," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 110-132.
    14. Mark V. JANIKAS & Sergio J. REY, 2008. "On The Relationships Between Spatial Clustering, Inequality, And Economic Growth In The United States : 1969-2000," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 27, pages 13-34.
    15. Huang, Ruting & Yao, Xin, 2023. "The role of power transmission infrastructure in income inequality: Fresh evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    16. Eugenio Jose Silva Bitti & Muriel Fadairo & Cintya Lanchimba & Vivian-Lara Silva, 2016. "Spatial strategies in Brazilian Franchising; Behavior categories and Performance Outcome," Working Papers halshs-01292057, HAL.
    17. Euijune Kim & Yasir Niti Samudro, 2017. "The impact of intergovernmental transfer funds on interregional income disparity in Indonesia," International Journal of Urban Sciences, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 22-40, January.
    18. Frank Cowell & Emmanuel Flachaire, 2021. "Inequality Measurement: Methods and Data," Post-Print hal-03589066, HAL.
    19. Reinhard Schiel & Murray Leibbrandt & David Lam, 2016. "Assessing the Impact of Social Grants on Inequality: A South African Case Study," International Economic Association Series, in: Timothy Besley (ed.), Contemporary Issues in Development Economics, chapter 8, pages 112-135, Palgrave Macmillan.
    20. Justin Visagie & Ivan Turok, 2022. "Firing on all cylinders: Decomposing regional growth dynamics in South Africa," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 90(1), pages 57-74, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:71:y:2021:i:c:p:164-179. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/economic-analysis-and-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.