Comparative Analysis of Rural Consumption Expenditure in China

The disparity of consumption expenditure among rural areas in China was studied. Then income and living expenditure of rural residents were divided into 5 grades. Principle and method of Cluster Analysis were introduced. Next, Cluster Analysis was adopted to research the disparity of rural consumption expenditure among various areas. Results showed that income and consumption expenditure of 31 districts, cities and provinces could be divided into 5 classes. Shanghai City was the only city rated as the first-class areas with highest income and consumption. 7 cities and provinces were rated as the top three classes of areas. Taking Hebei and Jilin Province as the representatives, most parts of the fourth-class areas were located in northeast part of China with poor cultivated land, which will lead to slow development of rural economy. The fifth-class areas represented by Chongqing City and Sichuan Province were constrained by natural factors with frequent disasters as well as underdevelopment of industry and agriculture, which could not play an improving role in rural development. On this basis, relevant policy countermeasures were put forward.