Labor Market Distortions, Rural-urban Inequality, and the Opening of People's Republic of China's Economy

Labor Market Distortions, Rural-urban Inequality, and the Opening of People's Republic of China's Economy
Author: Thomas Warren Hertel
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 41
Release: 2004
Genre: China
ISBN: 2004121610

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The authors find that reform of the Hukou system has the most significant impact on aggregate economic activity, as well as income distribution. Whereas the land market reform primarily benefits the agricultural households, this reform's primary beneficiaries are the rural households currently sending temporary migrants to the city. By reducing the implicit tax on temporary migrants, Hukou reform boosts their welfare and contributes to increased rural-urban migration. The combined effect of both factor market reforms is to reduce the urban-rural income ratio dramatically, from 2.59 in 2007 under the authors' baseline scenario to 2.27. When viewed as a combined policy package, along with WTO accession, rather than increasing inequality in China, the combined impact of product and factor market reforms significantly reduces rural-urban income inequality. This is an important outcome in an economy currently experiencing historic levels of rural-urban inequality"--Abstract.

Labor Market Distortions, Rural-Urban Inequality, and the Opening of China's Economy

Labor Market Distortions, Rural-Urban Inequality, and the Opening of China's Economy
Author: Thomas Hertel
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2013
Genre:
ISBN:

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The authors evaluate the impact of two key factor market distortions in China on rural-urban inequality and income distribution. They find that creation of a fully functioning land market has a significant impact on rural-urban inequality. This reform permits agricultural households to focus solely on the differential between farm and non-farm returns to labor in determining whether to work on or off-farm. This gives rise to an additional 10 million people moving out of agriculture by 2007 and lends a significant boost to the incomes of those remaining in agriculture. This off-farm migration also contributes to a significant rise in rural-urban migration, thereby lowering urban wages, particularly for unskilled workers. As a consequence, rural-urban inequality declines significantly. The authors find that reform of the Hukou system has the most significant impact on aggregate economic activity, as well as income distribution. Whereas the land market reform primarily benefits the agricultural households, this reform's primary beneficiaries are the rural households currently sending temporary migrants to the city. By reducing the implicit tax on temporary migrants, Hukou reform boosts their welfare and contributes to increased rural-urban migration. The combined effect of both factor market reforms is to reduce the urban-rural income ratio dramatically, from 2.59 in 2007 under the authors' baseline scenario to 2.27. When viewed as a combined policy package, along with WTO accession, rather than increasing inequality in China, the combined impact of product and factor market reforms significantly reduces rural-urban income inequality. This is an important outcome in an economy currently experiencing historic levels of rural-urban inequality.

Labor Market Distortions, Rural-Urban Inequality, and the Opening of China's Economy

Labor Market Distortions, Rural-Urban Inequality, and the Opening of China's Economy
Author: Thomas W. Hertel
Publisher:
Total Pages: 41
Release: 2016
Genre:
ISBN:

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Hertel and Zhai evaluate the impact of two key factor market distortions in China on rural-urban inequality and income distribution. They find that creation of a fully functioning land market has a significant impact on rural-urban inequality. This reform permits agricultural households to focus solely on the differential between farm and nonfarm returns to labor in determining whether to work on or off-farm. This gives rise to an additional 10 million people moving out of agriculture by 2007 and lends a significant boost to the incomes of those remaining in agriculture. This off-farm migration also contributes to a significant rise in rural-urban migration, thereby lowering urban wages, particularly for unskilled workers. As a consequence, rural-urban inequality declines significantly.The authors find that reform of the Hukou system has the most significant impact on aggregate economic activity, as well as income distribution. Whereas the land market reform primarily benefits the agricultural households, this reform's primary beneficiaries are the rural households currently sending temporary migrants to the city. By reducing the implicit tax on temporary migrants, Hukou reform boosts their welfare and contributes to increased rural-urban migration. The combined effect of both factor market reforms is to reduce the urban-rural income ratio dramatically, from 2.59 in 2007 under the authors' baseline scenario to 2.27.When viewed as a combined policy package, along with WTO accession, rather than increasing inequality in China, the combined impact of product and factor market reforms significantly reduces rural-urban income inequality. This is an important outcome in an economy currently experiencing historic levels of rural-urban inequality.This paper - a product of the Trade Team, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to evaluate the poverty impacts of trade policy reforms.

Labor Market Distortions, Rural-Urban Inequality, and the Opening of the People's Republic of China Economy

Labor Market Distortions, Rural-Urban Inequality, and the Opening of the People's Republic of China Economy
Author: Thomas Hertel
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 42
Release: 2008-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1437900607

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Evaluates the impact of some key factor market reforms on rural-urban inequality & income distribution, using a household-disaggregated, recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium model of the People¿s Republic of China. It also explores how these factor market reforms interact with product market reforms currently under way as part of the country¿s World Trade Org. (WTO) accession process. The simulation results show that reforms in the rural land rental market & hukou system, as well as increasing off-farm labor mobility, would reduce the urban-rural income ratio dramatically. Furthermore, the combination of WTO accession & factor market reforms improves both efficiency & equality significantly. Charts, tables & graphs.

Unemployment, Inequality and Poverty in Urban China

Unemployment, Inequality and Poverty in Urban China
Author: Hiroshi Sato
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2006-09-27
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1134303068

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Although the Chinese economy is growing at a very high rate, there are massive social dislocations arising as a result of economic restructuring. Though the scale of the problem is huge, very few studies have examined the changes in income inequality in the late 1990s due to a lack of data on household incomes. Based on extensive original research, this book redresses this imbalance, examining the issue of unemployment and the problems it has brought for the people of China. Investigating the market outcomes in post-reform urban China, the book focuses on the relationships between unemployment, inequality, and poverty. In addition, the authors provide an analysis on the emerging urban labour market and its stratified structure, job mobility, profit sharing, and the role of social capital. Empirical analysis is supported by rich data from nationally representative urban household and rural migrant surveys, providing the latest picture of the widening inequality in Chinese urban society.

Urbanization, Inequality, and Poverty in the People's Republic of China

Urbanization, Inequality, and Poverty in the People's Republic of China
Author: Yuan Zhang
Publisher:
Total Pages: 35
Release: 2016
Genre:
ISBN:

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Relying on the present literature, official statistics, and household survey data in the People's Republic of China (PRC), this paper summarizes research findings on the relationship between urbanization, urban-rural inequality, and poverty, and provides further empirical evidence on the role of urbanization and government policies in urban poverty. Several conclusions can be drawn from this paper. First, urbanization has a significant effect on reducing both poverty of rural residents and poverty of migrating peasants, and, consequently, has a positive effect on narrowing the rural-urban income/consumption gap. Urban labor markets play an important role in this effect. Second, urbanization is positively correlated to urban poverty. This can be explained by the competition between migrating peasants and urban workers in the labor market, and the failure of the government's anti-poverty policies in urban areas. Third, the existence of an informal sector has a negative effect on the poverty of urban citizens. Being employed by the informal sector significantly increases the probability of falling into poverty for urban citizens. Fourth, the minimum wage has a positive effect on reducing urban poverty, while the effect of other policies, such as Di Bao and Minimum Living Standard, is limited.

China's Labor Market Performance and Challenges

China's Labor Market Performance and Challenges
Author: Tao Ran
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 26
Release: 2003-11-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1451919409

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A more market-oriented labor market has emerged in China in the past twenty years with growing importance of the urban private sector, as state-owned enterprises have downsized. Despite the progress on reforms, a sizable surplus of labor still exists in the rural sector and state-owned enterprises. The main challenge facing China’s labor market in coming years is to absorb the surplus labor into quality jobs while adjusting to World Trade Organization (WTO) accession. This paper estimates that if annual GDP growth averages 7 percent and the employment elasticity is one-half, urban unemployment could double to about 10 percent over the next three to four years. These pressures would be limited by stronger economic growth, especially in the private sector and more labor-intensive service industries which have generated the most jobs in recent years. Therefore, policy should focus on encouraging private sector development while reducing barriers to labor mobility, improving worker skills, upgrading job search services, and strengthening the social safety net.

Labor Market Reform, Income Inequality and Economic Growth in China

Labor Market Reform, Income Inequality and Economic Growth in China
Author: Ming Lu
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2008
Genre:
ISBN:

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The year 1996 was a turning point both in terms of Chinese labor market reform and in China's economic growth pattern. Before 1996, labor market reform was mainly implemented through adjustment of people's occupation and income structure. Since 1996, employment restructuring has led to differentiation in terms of employment status. Labor market reform in the former stage resulted in slow growth in wages, whereas reform in the latter stage enhanced economic efficiency. Both stages have enabled the Chinese economy to apply its comparative advantage of low labor cost. Labor market reform has also increased income disparity and, therefore, new challenges are posed in sustaining economic growth. China needs to adjust its development strategies and introduce labor market reform that can improve income equality, so as to achieve sustainable economic development.