When Globalization Meets Urbanization: Labor Market Reform, Income Inequality, and Economic Growth in the People’s Republic of China
Lu, Ming; Gao, Hong | November 2009
Abstract
The development path that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been following during the past thirty years has led to both internal and external economic imbalances, and is now greatly challenged by the global crisis. This unbalanced growth path was primarily a result of the PRC’s labor market reform which took the years of the mid-1990s as its turning point. Before the mid-1990s, the scale of rural-to-urban migration was limited, but it has grown dramatically since then. 1996 also saw drastic employment restructuring in urban areas of the PRC. Labor market reform, accompanied by the foreign exchange system reform in 1994, confirmed the PRC’s comparative advantage of low labor cost, and therefore further increased the PRC’s reliance on exports. However, the increased income disparity that resulted from the labor market reform may jeopardize sustainable growth if no adjustment is made. To sustain the high economic growth, especially in face of the current crisis, the PRC needs to adjust its reform and development strategies to promote income equality.
Citation
Lu, Ming; Gao, Hong. 2009. When Globalization Meets Urbanization: Labor Market Reform, Income Inequality, and Economic Growth in the People’s Republic of China. © Asian Development Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/3750. License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.Keywords
Gender
Gender Bias
Gender Differences
Gender Discrimination
Gender Equality
Gender Gaps
Gender Inequality
Gender Issues
Gender Relations
Gender Roles
Comparative Analysis
Social Research
Sex Discrimination
Employment Discrimination
Women's Rights
Equal Opportunity
Equal Pay
Feminism
Men's Role
Women's Role
Gender-based analysis
Sex differences
Job bias
Equal employment opportunity
Fair employment practice
Job discrimination
Affirmative action programs
Sex dicrimination against women
Pay equity
Sexism
Equal rights amendment
Emancipation of women
Equal rights
Women's movements
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