A Study of Income Distribution in China
Title: A Study of Income Distribution in China
Authors: Cai Fang, Zhang Juwei et al.
Translated by Wen Yayun
ISBN: 978-1-84464-670-8
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-84464-671-5
Hardback - 392 pages
April 2022
English
£80 €100 $130
Description:
As the country with the fastest economic growth in the world, China is faced with the extremely complex income distribution showing both the commonalities of market economies with rapid development and the particularity of China’s institutional mechanism. To study and understand income distribution, it is not only necessary to start with the general law of the development of market economy but with China’s unique system and mechanism. Otherwise, it will be difficult to clearly depict the essence of China’s income distribution. This book is the result of the major project of the National Social Science Fund. This project on China’s income distribution, one of the four major issues when central government leaders came to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in spring festival of 2011, becomes the task of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics. According to the plan, the project was aided by experts from other institutes of the Academy of Social Sciences and well-known experts from other institutions outside the Academy of Social Sciences.
China’s implementation of a socialist market economy determines that China’s income distribution has its own unique law in marketization. China’s basic economic system changes into public ownership as its main body with a variety of economic components developing together, requiring its income distribution to change into distribution according to both work and its production factors. Therefore, from the perspective of distribution system, China has both its commonalities and particularity compared with other market economies. Among them, distribution according to production factors reflects the distribution law of market economy and distribution according to work reflects the distribution characteristics of socialist public economy. Different distribution modes will inevitably result in different distribution. China’s income distribution shares that of average market economy and particularity of its basic economic system. These two is intertwined and influence each other, thus leading to the complexity of China’s income distribution.
With the transition from planned economy to market economy, China’s basic economic system has changed from single public ownership to public ownership as the main body with a variety of economic components developing together and the distribution system has also changed from distribution according to work into distribution according to both work and various production factors. In this process, the relatively average income distribution pattern according to work formed under public ownership will be broken and the distribution mechanism of contribution according to production factors will be gradually formed with the income gap widening, giving rise to serious income distribution.
Content:
Preface
Chapter I China’s Income Trap and Middle-Income Trap
I. China’s Middle-Income Trap
II. Income Distribution and Middle-Income Trap
III. Debate over and Empirical Research on Income Distribution
IV. Conclusion and Policy Implications
Chapter II Manifestation and Essence of China’s Income Distribution Problem ----Factor Capitalization and Unfair Distribution
I. China’s Income Distribution
II. “Crux” of China’s Income Distribution: Unfair Distribution and Factor Capitalization
III. Solution to China’s Income Distribution Problem
Chapter III Changes and Problems in China’s Labor Share
I. Dispute over Labor Share
II. China’s Actual Labor Share Changes
III. Definition of Labor Share Changes
IV. China’s Income Distribution Problem
V. Conclusion and Suggestions
Chapter IV Wage Changes and Wage Growth in China: Should Wage Grow?
I. Wage Changes
II. Is There Room for Wage Growth: Comparison with Profits and Productivity
III. Conclusion and Suggestion
Chapter V Tax System Reform and National Income Distribution
I. National Income Distribution Pattern
II. Tax System Factors in National Income Distribution
III. Impact of Tax System on National Income Distribution and its Reform
IV. Factors Affecting Tax System in “The Third Distribution”
Chapter VI State-owned Enterprises and National
Income Distribution / 121
I. Nature and Responsibility of State-owned Enterprises
II. SOE Reform
III. Corporate Governance and Income Distribution of Privatized ESOs (Employee Stock Ownership)
IV. Income Distribution of Capitalized State-owned Monopolies
V. Innovating ESOP System to Narrow the Income Gap in Privatized Enterprises
VI. Deepening State-owned Enterprise Reform to Improve National Income
VII. Conclusion
Chapter VII Economic Growth and Residents’ Income
Distribution--How to Achieve China’s Residents’ Income Growth
I. Residents’ Income Growth
II. Major Problems Hindering Residents’ Income Growth
III. Countermeasures and Suggestions for Residents’ Income Improvement
Chapter VIII Impact of Labor Market Changes on Income Distribution
I. Positive Changes in Labor Market
II. Employment Expansion Conducive to Initial Distribution Improvement
III. Effect of Labor Flow on Income Distribution
IV. Conclusion
Chapter IX Informal Employment and Income Gap between Urban Employees
I. Informal Employment
II. Informal Employment in Chinese Cities.
III. Informal Employment and Employees’ Income Gap
IV. From Informal Employment to Formal Employment
V. Conclusion
Chapter X Social Security and Income Distribution
I. Regulation Effect of Social Security on Income Distribution
II. Effect of Social Security on Residents’ Income Distribution with Survey Data
III. “Inverse Regulation” Effect of Social Security on Urban-rural Income Gap
IV. Conclusion and Suggestions
Chapter XI Harmonious Labor Relations and Reasonable Wage Growth
I.Wage Formation and Determination Mechanism: International Experience
II. Labor Market System Related to Wage Growth: Wage Guidance Price System
III. Labor Market System Related to Wage Growth: Minimum Wage System
IV. Wage Collective Bargaining System, Collective Contract System and Trade Unions
Chapter XII Income Distribution with International Experience and Lessons
I. Introduction
II. Reason for Widening Income Gap: Capital-dominated Distribution Pattern
III. Reason for the Narrowing Income Gap: Game between Labor and Capital
IV. Income Gap Widening again: Income Distribution in New Economic Era
V. Conclusion and Implications
Chapter XIII Conclusion and Suggestions
I. Rethinking on China’s Income Distribution
II. “Sticking Point” of China’s Income Distribution Problem and its Solution
III. A Correct Understanding of China’s Labor Share
IV. Curb China’s Widening Income Gap through Redistribution
References
About the Authors:
Cai Fang, former Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), secretary-general of the presidium of CASS, Member of CASS, chief researcher of the National High-end Think Tank at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China. His main research areas include labor economics, population economics, economic growth, income distribution, China's economic reform, etc. His main works include China's Economic Development and Its Implications to the World, Beyond the Demographic Dividend, Perceiving Truth and Ceasing Doubts, The“Belt and Road" Handbook (editor-in-chief), and China Wisdom (editor-in-chief), etc.
Zhang Juwei, Director General of Institute of Population and Labor Economics (formerly Institute of Population Studies), Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Major Publications are Poverty and Nutritional Elasticity in Rural China, A Study of Employment Elasticity in China, , Monographs such as Population, What Will It bring to China (With Cai Fang et al, Population, Ecology and Sustainable Development in China, etc.
About the Translator:
Wen Yayun, an associate professor of Foreign Language School，Zhejiang Gongshang University. She received her Master's degree in English Language and Literature from Zhejiang University in 2000. She has published over 10 articles.