Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP4136
Authors: Ravi Kanbur; Xiaobo Zhang
Abstract: While increasing income inequality in China has been commented on and studied extensively, relatively little analysis is available on inequality in other dimensions of human development. Using data from different sources, this Paper presents some basic facts on the evolution of spatial inequalities in education and healthcare in China over the long run. In the era of economic reforms, as the foundations of education and healthcare provision have changed, so has the distribution of illiteracy and infant mortality. Across provinces and within provinces, between rural and urban areas and within rural and urban areas, social inequalities have increased substantially since the reforms began.
Keywords: illiteracy; infant mortality rate; polarization; spatial inequality in China
JEL Codes: D63; O15; O18
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Economic reforms initiated in 1978 (P11) | Increased income inequality (D31) |
| Increased income inequality (D31) | Exacerbated social inequalities in education and healthcare (I14) |
| Increased income inequality (D31) | Disparities in illiteracy rates and infant mortality between rural and urban areas (I14) |
| Policy shifts favoring urban areas (R28) | Decline in public investment in rural education and healthcare (H54) |
| Decentralization of fiscal responsibilities (H77) | Weakened central government's ability to redistribute resources effectively (H77) |
| Weakened central government's ability to redistribute resources effectively (H77) | Widening gap in health outcomes, particularly in infant mortality rates (I14) |