Examines trends in inequality in the People's Republic of China. It contains new findings on inequality nationwide, as well as within the rural and urban sectors, with an emphasis on public policy considerations. Several chapters focus on inequality of income; others analyze poverty, inequality in wealth, and the distribution of wages. Attention is given to groups such as migrants, women, and the elderly, as well as the relationship between income and health care funding and the impact of the rural tax reform. A distinguishing feature of this book is its database. All contributors to this volume make use of a large, nationwide survey of Chinese households, the product of long-term cooperation between Chinese and international researchers that is unique in its scope and duration. Using these data, the contributors examine changes in inequality over nearly fifteen years of the transitional era, from 1988 to 2002.
1. Inequality and public policy in China: issues and trends; 2. Income inequality and spatial differences in China, 1988, 1995, and 2002; 3. Growth and distribution of household income in China between 1995 and 2002; 4. Explaining incomes and inequality in China; 5. The distribution of wealth in China; 6. Growth, inequality, and poverty: a comparative study of China's experience in the periods before and after the Asian crisis; 7. What has economic transition meant for the well-being of the elderly in China?; 8. Inequality in financing China's health care; 9. China's emerging wage structure, 1995-2002; 10. Unemployment, earlier retirement and changes in the gender income gap in urban China from 1995 to 2002; 11. What determines living arrangements of the elderly in urban China?; 12. The impact of village-specific factors on household income in rural China; 13. The redistributive impact of taxation in rural China, 1995-2002: an evaluation of rural taxation reform at the turn of the century; Appendix: the 1995 and 2002 household surveys: sampling methods and data description.