In most OECD countries the gap between rich and poor has widened over the past decades. This paper analyzes whether and to what extent taxes and social transfers have contributed to this trend. Has the redistributive power of different social programs changed over time? The paper contributes to...

This paper explores a new mathematical model to evaluate income inequality between urban and rural residents quantitatively. It finds that as the urban population increases, the income inequality between rural and urban residents will first rise and then fall. These findings are applied to...

The literature shows that the main problem with calculating the Gini coefficient of Chinese residents’ incomes is the limitations of the data source. Though many studies have tried to overcome the limitations by decomposing the nationwide Gini coefficient into urban and rural areas, the final...

Data insufficiency has become the primary factor affecting research on income disparity in China. To resolve this issue, this paper explores Chinese income distribution and income inequality using distribution functions. First, it examines 20 sets of grouped data on family income between 2005...

The literature indicates the problems in the data to calculate the Gini coefficient of Chinese residents' income. Although many studies have tried to overcome the problem by decomposing the nationwide Gini ratio into urban and rural ones, the final results have been underestimated as a result of...

This study proposes a new approach to analyse the effects of an overlap term on the calculation of the overall Gini coefficient and estimates China's Gini ratios since the adoption of the economic reform and open-door policies. A decomposition of the Chinese Gini coefficient for 1978–2010...