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


Book Description

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.




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


Book Description

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.










Globalization and Development Volume II


Book Description

Globalization and Development is a "cross-national study" on the "interstate dispersion" of the impacts (on growth, inequality and poverty) that international economic integration provides to the economies of the developing countries. In order to present the "Leading Issues in Development with Globalization" in a balanced manner, to identify differences and commonalities among "Country Experiences" in development with globalization, and to introduce diversified development paradigms with forward-looking discussions "In Search of a New Development Paradigm" for the post-MDGs era, this publication consists of three volumes and four main parts. Volume II (Part III) presents the country case studies of Bhutan, China, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Ghana, with their respective experiences of development under globalization. An additional chapter that describes the overall African experience under globalization is included, reflecting the recent emergence of Africa as the global target of investment. This book intends to serve as a unique and comprehensive guide for those in the international development community on the subjects of diversified development paradigms/paths under globalization and other challenges in the post-MDGs era.




Trade Facilitation


Book Description

The issue of trade facilitation has been increasingly highlighted among business and trading communities as they would like to reduce the costs of international transactions of goods and services. Trade facilitation is a broad term: there are a number of international agreements relating to trade facilitation, and a number of international organizations involved in this area. Recognizing the importance of trade facilitation and after several years of exploratory work on government trade facilitation measures, members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed, in July 2004, to include trade facilitation in the multilateral trade negotiations of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). This paper examines the issue of trade facilitation in a wider context, covering various articles in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and WTO instruments, the World Customs Organization and other international conventions, and the state of play of DDA negotiations. Based on these discussions, conclusions are drawn and recommendations made as to structure, modality, and substance of an agreement on trade facilitation.




China's Rebalancing and Gender Inequality


Book Description

This paper examines gender inequality in the context of structural transformation and rebalancing in China. We document declining women's relative wages and labor force participation in China during the last two decades, despite rapid growth and expansion of the service sector. Using household data, we provide evidence consistent with a U-shaped relationship between economic development and women's labor market outcomes. Using a model of structural transformation, we show that labor market barriers for women have increased over time. Model counterfactuals suggest that removing these barriers and increasing service sector productivity can boost both gender equality and economic growth in China.




China's Economy


Book Description

This collection of critical surveys provides readers with a range of up-to-date work from leading scholars in the area, writing on some of the key issues facing China, as they survey the present and future challenges of the Chinese economy Nine papers provide detailed discussion on key aspects of the past, present and future of the Chinese economy Leaders in their relevant fields of scholarship tackle some of the critical issues facing China Contributors identify common themes, including the household registration system, urbanization, demographic transition, inequality and the sustainability of economic growth Articles provide a critical review of the literature and discuss policy implications and areas for future research







Measuring Underemployment


Book Description