Grassroots Democracy, Accountability and Income Distribution: Evidence from Rural China

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Shen ◽  
Yang Yao
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Grassroots Democracy

Income Distribution in Small Rural Chinese Communities

1976 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 797-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Blecher
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Modern China ◽  
Equal Distribution ◽  
Rural Income ◽  
Interview Research ◽  
China Today ◽  
Modest Level

The issue of equality has become the focus of increasing attention in both China and the west in the past several years. But the empirical basis for analyzing the extent and nature of equality in modern China remains weak, relying as it has on impressions and scattered statistics brought back by visitors. The most systematic summary of available data on one form of equality – income distribution – is Professor Martin Whyte's recent article in The China Quarterly (No. 64) entitled “Inequality and stratification in China.” Whyte's measure of inequality is the ratio of the income of the highest earner to that of the lowest. In his treatment of rural income, Whyte reports intra-team ratios for 18 communes visited by Keith Buchanan as around 3:1, a ratio of 14:1 for Liu-lin village visited by Jan Myrdal in 1962, and 3:1 or 4:1 for villages in his own interview research. On the basis of this kind of data, Whyte concludes that income inequality within China's production teams is relatively low but not outstandingly so in comparison with pre-1949 China or with other Asian countries. He suggests that the “modest” level of income inequality in rural China today may be as much the result of a relatively equal distribution before 1949 as of post-Liberation agricultural development and redistribution of the means of production.

The ‘4Project’, Suning County, Hebei: Enabling Rural People to Come Together and Re-Organize

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-273
Author(s):  
Zheng Ruoting
Keyword(s):  
Rural China ◽  
Rural Society ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
Local People ◽  
Rural People ◽  
Grassroots Democracy ◽  
Party Organizations ◽  
To Come

Abstract Faced with the countless problems of rural society, in 2008 Suning County began to ponder and explore ways to solve these rural problems right at the root. Suning spent time and effort putting thought into the practicalities of working in the countryside, and combined this with the frame of reference gleaned through useful experiences of solving the ‘Three Rurals’ (the state’s term for three major issues troubling rural China). On this basis, Suning County devised the 4Project – a four-fold approach – to bring rural people back together, encouraging them once again to organize. Through development of grassroots Party organizations, grassroots democracy organizations, comprehensive stability maintenance organizations, and economic cooperatives, the local people, who had been scattered and lacking unity, were brought into these organizations.

The Face of "Grassroots Democracy" in Rural China: Real Versus Cosmetic Elections

Asian Survey ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 456-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
John James Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Rural China ◽  
Grassroots Democracy ◽  
The Face

Beyond Malthus and Ricardo: Economic Growth, Land Concentration, and Income Distribution in Early Twentieth-Century Rural China

1990 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 807-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loren Brandt ◽  
Barbara Sands
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Alternative Scenario ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Economic Opportunities ◽  
Early Twentieth Century

The article reexamines the connection between rural landownership and income distribution in light of recent evidence suggesting economic growth in China in the early twentieth century. The study utilizes a government-organized national survey of landholding and income-earning in 1930s’ China and three household-level village surveys conducted by Japanese researchers in the 1930s. Our investigations produce evidence contrary to the currently held view of substantial (and increasing) income inequality. We suggest an alternative scenario of economic opportunities.

Food consumption among income classes and its response to changes in income distribution in rural China

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 406-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanjun Ren ◽  
Yanjie Zhang ◽  
Jens-Peter Loy ◽  
Thomas Glauben
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Food Demand ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Demand Model ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Income Elasticities

Purpose Given the fact that the income disparity has become extremely severe in rural China, the purpose of this paper is to examine heterogeneity in food consumption among various income classes and to investigate the impact of changes in income distribution patterns on food demand in rural China. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the authors partition the households into five income classes according to the distribution of household per capita net income. Using household data drawn from the China Health and Nutrition Survey in 2011, a two-stage demand model is applied to estimate a food demand system for each of the income classes. After obtaining the estimated income elasticities of eight studied food groups for each income class, the authors then examine the responsiveness of food demand to the changes in income distribution by means of four scenarios with varying income distribution. Findings The empirical results indicate that substantial differences in food consumption exist across various income classes. Specifically, the lowest-income households are more sensitive to price and income changes for most studied food groups than the highest-income households are. In general, income responsiveness is higher for meats, aquatic products and dairy products. Based on estimated income elasticities, the projected food consumption under different income distribution patterns shows that changes in income distribution have significant influences on food consumption. In addition, the authors conclude that a more equal distribution of income would be associated with a higher demand for food in rural China. Originality/value This paper employs a two-stage demand model to estimate food demand in rural China by income classes. The results imply substantial differences in food demand for various income classes. Therefore, income distribution should be taken into account instead of an average estimation for the population as a whole when investigating food demand in rural China. Given the significant changes in income distribution in rural China, this study provides several important policy implications to alleviate income inequality and poverty, as well as to improve nutrition for lower-income classes.

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