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Measuring inter-provincial income inequality in China: a sensitivity analysis

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  • Rui Hao
  • Zheng Wei

Abstract

China's regional inequality is a hotly debated topic in the literature, but the fundamental issue of measurement has somehow escaped from the deliberations. In this paper, we select several commonly used income indicators, inequality indices and concepts to measure China's inter-provincial inequality and compare the results. We find China's inter-provincial inequality is very sensitive to different measurements. These sensitivity analyses help us to understand the ongoing debates on China's regional income inequality. We also conduct a cross-country comparison to illustrate the broad ranking of China's regional inequality in the world. We find that China's regional inequality appears not to be as high as usually perceived, despite approaching an alarming level.

Suggested Citation

  • Rui Hao & Zheng Wei, 2009. "Measuring inter-provincial income inequality in China: a sensitivity analysis," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 55-76.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jocebs:v:7:y:2009:i:1:p:55-76
    DOI: 10.1080/14765280802604722
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Haifeng & Zhang, Hongliang & Zhang, Junsen, 2015. "Demographic age structure and economic development: Evidence from Chinese provinces," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 170-185.
    2. Yingru Li, 2012. "The spatial variation of China's regional inequality in human development," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(3), pages 263-278, August.

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