Nonfarm activity plays an increasingly important role in rural household income. Based on data from the Living Standards Measurement Study in the provinces of Hebei and Liaoning, the authors study the distribution of nonfarm income in rural China. First, they assume nonfarm income as an...

Large numbers of agricultural labor moved from the countryside to cities after the economic reforms in China. Migration and remittances play an important role in transforming the structure of rural household income. This paper examines the impact of rural-to-urban migration on rural poverty and...

Income inequality in China has risen rapidly in the past decades across regions, between rural and urban sectors, and within provinces. The dynamics of divergence across these sub-national areas have taken the form of a "race to the top" - meaning that all segments of the population, including...

The authors examine the impact of trade facilitation on bilateral trade flows. They examine trade facilitation and capacity-building priorities in 12 countries in the Europe and Central Asia region-eight of the current members of the European Union: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,...

China's government economic stimulus package in 2008-09 appears to have worked well. It seems to have been about the right size, included a number of appropriate components, and was well timed. Its subnational component was designed to maximize the impact of the stimulus package on the economy...

The labor market performance in Croatia failed to keep pace with the moderately good overall macroeconomic development in the past few years. Youth, the less well-educated, and women face more difficulties in getting a job with a decent salary. A large part of the difference in regional labor...

In the Philippines, an important part of income inequality is associated with the wage difference between the less educated and the better educated. The majority of the least educated are employed in low-paid services jobs and the agricultural sector. Tertiary education is to a large extent a...

The Philippine economy has been growing rapidly, at an annual growth rate of 5 percent over the past five years. Such decent growth in gross domestic product, however, did not translate into an increase in household income. Wage income declined in real terms. The poverty headcount increased...

China has quickly become the largest e-commerce market in the world. By matching a nationally representative China Family Panel Studies survey with county-level e-commerce information obtained from Alibaba, this paper examines how e-commerce development has shaped household consumption growth in...

E-commerce has developed rapidly in China, and Taobao Villages, which are villages significantly engaged in e-commerce, are prospering in rural areas. E-commerce is fostering entrepreneurship and creating flexible and inclusive employment opportunities, including for women and youth. This paper...