Village inequality in Western China: Implications for development strategy in lagging regions

Increased regional inequality has been a major concern in many emerging economies like China, India, Vietnam and Thailand. However, even a large inequality is observed within the lagging regions. The objective of this paper is to look into what are the sources of within region inequality using the c...

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Autores principales: Xing, Li, Fan, Shenggen, Luo, Xiaopeng, Zhang, Xiaobo
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2006
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160363
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author Xing, Li
Fan, Shenggen
Luo, Xiaopeng
Zhang, Xiaobo
author_browse Fan, Shenggen
Luo, Xiaopeng
Xing, Li
Zhang, Xiaobo
author_facet Xing, Li
Fan, Shenggen
Luo, Xiaopeng
Zhang, Xiaobo
author_sort Xing, Li
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Increased regional inequality has been a major concern in many emerging economies like China, India, Vietnam and Thailand. However, even a large inequality is observed within the lagging regions. The objective of this paper is to look into what are the sources of within region inequality using the community surveys and a census type of households in Western China. This snapshot view of inequality within and between rural villages in western China is based on a census-type household survey in three administrative villages and a sampling survey of 286 natural villages in the poor province of Guizhou in 2004. In contrast to coastal regions, nonfarm income is distributed unevenly in this inland western region. This accounts for the largest share of overall income inequality. But agriculture is still the rural people’s major source of livelihood in this particular location. On the expenditure side, health care is one of the most important sources of inequality. Because rural income is strongly related to human capital, the uneven access to health care will translate into a larger income gap in the long run. The analysis based on the natural village survey indicates that income varies widely across villages. Access to infrastructure and markets, education, and political participation explain most of this variation. These findings have important implications on the future development strategy in promoting lagging regions development and poverty reduction. While the overall economic development will be the main instrument to bring the majority poor out of poverty, a targeted approach has become increasingly crucial in helping the poor villages and households. It is critical to understand why these villages and households can not participate in the growth process and how development programs and various transfer programs help them to overcome the constraints they face.
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spelling CGSpace1603632025-11-06T07:15:53Z Village inequality in Western China: Implications for development strategy in lagging regions Xing, Li Fan, Shenggen Luo, Xiaopeng Zhang, Xiaobo rural development poverty poverty reduction household surveys agriculture income rural areas Increased regional inequality has been a major concern in many emerging economies like China, India, Vietnam and Thailand. However, even a large inequality is observed within the lagging regions. The objective of this paper is to look into what are the sources of within region inequality using the community surveys and a census type of households in Western China. This snapshot view of inequality within and between rural villages in western China is based on a census-type household survey in three administrative villages and a sampling survey of 286 natural villages in the poor province of Guizhou in 2004. In contrast to coastal regions, nonfarm income is distributed unevenly in this inland western region. This accounts for the largest share of overall income inequality. But agriculture is still the rural people’s major source of livelihood in this particular location. On the expenditure side, health care is one of the most important sources of inequality. Because rural income is strongly related to human capital, the uneven access to health care will translate into a larger income gap in the long run. The analysis based on the natural village survey indicates that income varies widely across villages. Access to infrastructure and markets, education, and political participation explain most of this variation. These findings have important implications on the future development strategy in promoting lagging regions development and poverty reduction. While the overall economic development will be the main instrument to bring the majority poor out of poverty, a targeted approach has become increasingly crucial in helping the poor villages and households. It is critical to understand why these villages and households can not participate in the growth process and how development programs and various transfer programs help them to overcome the constraints they face. 2006 2024-11-21T09:50:35Z 2024-11-21T09:50:35Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160363 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Xing, Li; Fan, Shenggen; Luo, Xiaopeng; Zhang, Xiaobo. Village inequality in Western China: Implications for development strategy in lagging regions. DSGD Discussion Paper 31. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160363
spellingShingle rural development
poverty
poverty reduction
household surveys
agriculture
income
rural areas
Xing, Li
Fan, Shenggen
Luo, Xiaopeng
Zhang, Xiaobo
Village inequality in Western China: Implications for development strategy in lagging regions
title Village inequality in Western China: Implications for development strategy in lagging regions
title_full Village inequality in Western China: Implications for development strategy in lagging regions
title_fullStr Village inequality in Western China: Implications for development strategy in lagging regions
title_full_unstemmed Village inequality in Western China: Implications for development strategy in lagging regions
title_short Village inequality in Western China: Implications for development strategy in lagging regions
title_sort village inequality in western china implications for development strategy in lagging regions
topic rural development
poverty
poverty reduction
household surveys
agriculture
income
rural areas
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160363
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AT fanshenggen villageinequalityinwesternchinaimplicationsfordevelopmentstrategyinlaggingregions
AT luoxiaopeng villageinequalityinwesternchinaimplicationsfordevelopmentstrategyinlaggingregions
AT zhangxiaobo villageinequalityinwesternchinaimplicationsfordevelopmentstrategyinlaggingregions