Based on a survey of 10,258 rural households and 9,009 urban households in China in 1988, a research project was carried out on household income and its distribution. The authors present an overview of the findings of this project. They note that the true urban-rural disparity in incomes is much...

This chapter addresses three issues that are central to understanding the effects of the transition in China from central planning to a more market-oriented economic system. First, what have been the consequences of the economic reforms for the distribution of income in urban areas? Second, what...