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Regional variation in earnings inequality in reform-era urban China

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This article studies the regional variation in earnings inequality in contemporary urban China, focusing on the relationship between the pace of economic reforms and earnings determination. Through a multilevel analysis, it shows that economic growth depresses the returns to education and work experience and does not affect the net differences between party members and non-members and between men and women. Overall earnings inequality remains low and only slightly correlated with economic growth because, in faster-growing cities, the tendency toward higher levels of inequality is somewhat offset by the lower returns to human capital. A plausible interpretation is that these results are largely due to the lack of a true labor market in urban China.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)950-992
Number of pages43
JournalAmerican Journal of Sociology
Volume101
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1996
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science

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