A Research On The Issue Of Peasants' Income In The Transitional Period Of China

Since the reforming and the opening-up, China has been transforming and developing into the modern socialist market economy. With the implementation of a series of reforming measures such as the household contract responsibility system, the rural economy has undergone a profound change, and the peasants'income has prominently increased. However, due to various economic and non-economic factors, especially the restriction of city-biased dual economic and social structure, the growth amplitude of peasants'income has been far lower than that of the urban residents, and then the gap between them is gradually enlarging. The lower income level of peasants not only has affected their life quality, but also has hindered the further development of agricultural, resulted in the shrinkage of industrial markets, and then influenced the coordinated development of the whole national economy. Moreover, the too large income disparity between rural and urban areas is very likely to impact the social stability.On the basis of the description about the evolution process of the peasants'income and the expressive characteristics of the income issue, this paper undergoes an in-depth study of the complex causes for the formation of the peasants'income issue, and analyzes the impacts of the special dual social and economic structure in the transitional period on the peasants'income growth. Besides, on the basis of reference from the experiences and lessones of the predate-developed countries and regions such as Japan, Taiwan, Brazil and USA, it puts forward to the countermeasures and suggestions about eliminating the exclusion of dual system, accelerating the transformation of dual-economic structure, and improving the peasants'income.Chapter I IntroductionStarting with the evolution of Chinese peasants'income growth and the income gap between the peasants and the urban residents after the reforming and the opening, this paper discusses its selected topic background and the purpose and significance of its reserch. By reviewing the domestic and foreign studies on this issue, and evaluating the current research, this paper determines its study angle. By defining of the relevant concepts, the paper makes clear its studying objects and range. According to the research purpose, the paper conceives its studying technical map and research methods. Chapterâ…¡The Basic Theory on the Issue of Peasants'Income in the Transitional Period of ChinaIn this chapter , this paper firstly introduces the studies on the measurements of income distribution disparity and the rules of the changing of distribution gap in economic development. And then based on quoting the income distribution theories of the classical economics, neo-classical economics and neo-classical comprehensive economics, it analysizes their limitations on explaining Chinese peasants'income issue. Finally, combining with the feature of the dual social and ecnomic structure of China in respect of the industrialization, urbanization, and market-oriented development stage, this paper focuses on the income distribution theories of development economics, institutional economics, and sociology, which lays a theoretical foundation for this paper'research.Chapter III The Evolution and Cause Analysis of the Issue of Peasants'Income in the Transitional Period of ChinaThis chapter recalls the historical process of the growth of peasants'income in the transitional period of China, and analyzes the current situations and features of the issue. Then it systematically analyzes the factors which influence the peasants'income according to a variety of sources of peasants'income. At last, it points out that the dual economic and social structure is the foundamental reason resulting in the relatively low income of peasants, which determines the angle of this article.Chapter IV The Impact of the Dual Economic Structure in the Transitional Period of China on the Peasants'IncomeThis part reviews the development process of China's dual economic structure, and analyzes the decisive rules and development trends of the traditional sector's income and modern sector's salary income and profit under the dual economic structure. Then it further discusses the influence mechanism of the structure to the growth of peasants'income from household operations, income from wages and salaries, and income from transfers. Subsequently, on the basis of the section data of 31 provinces in 2004 and the time series data since 1978, by econometric tools it carries out an empirical analysis of the impact of dual economic structure on the growth of peasants'income in the transitional period statically and dynamically.Chapter V The Impact of the Dual Social Structure in the Transitional Period of China on the Peasants'IncomeThis part first reviews the development process of the dual social structure in China, and analyzes the exclusion of the peasants'economic rights and the impact on the peasants'income increase of the special rural operating system, the food circulation system, the rural financial system, the rural labor migration system and the rural land ownership system under the dual social structure in the transitional period. Furthermore it studies the exclusion of the peasants'social rights and the impact on the peasants'income improvement of the rural public products provision system, the rural educational investment system, the social security system and the agricultural protection system.Chapter VI International Experiences of the Main Countries and Regions about Solving the IssueIn this part, the paper summarizes the successful experiences of the issue on the peasants'income in the advanced developed coutries such as Japan, Taiwan Province of China and the United States. Especially, it explains Brazil's lessons of dealing with the income disparity of urban and rural residents in economic development, which provides a reference for China.Chapterâ…¦The Thoughts and Measures on Innovating the Dual Economic and Social Structure and Promoting the Continuous Growth of Peasants'IncomeThe paper puts forward to an equal and justified social development idea of reforming the city-biased dual social structure, accelerating the transition of dual economic structure and strengthening the support to the weak"peasant"group. At last, it provides the following countermeasures and suggestions to increase peasants'income: vigorously developing the labor-intensive industries; cultivating county industries; eliminating the exclusion in the labor market; promoting the migration of labor force; practising supplying integration of public goods, such as rural and urban education and social security; enlarging the government's supporting force to agriculture and peasants'income; expanding peasants'scale of operation; guaranteeing peasant's land rights; establishing peasant organizations.The Possible Innovation Points of this Paper:This paper systematically analyzes the factors hindering the increase of peasants'income in the transitional period of China from the perspective of the income source. It points out that the dual economic and social structure is the foundamental reason leading to the comparatively lower income of the peasants in the transitional period of China. Futhermore, it discusses the issue from the perspective of the dual economic and social structure by the numbers.This paper further analyzes the restriction of the dual economic structure on the increase of peasants'income both by theoretic and positive methods, and sketches this restricting mechanism. It finds that under the dual economic structure, the relatively low development degree of the modern industry and the detention of the mass labourhood in the countryside have led to the shortness of the land resouce per capita, the waste of the country laborhood, and the restriction of the growth of peasants'income. At the same time, the existence of the abundant surplus rural labor causes the imbalance of the suply and demand in the urban labor market, and the excessive depression in the wage level of the uban labor. That is to say, the low level of urbanization and enormous rural population confine the increase of peasants'transfer income. On the basis of the section data of 31 provinces and the time series data since 1978, the paper explains the impact of dual economic structure on the increase of peasants'income statically and dynamically. And it finds that the coefficiency of linear regression equation is at 5% level significantly, and the dual economic structure is the Granger cause of rural and urban income difference. So the standing of the structure will steadily enlarge the gap.This paper analyzes the exclusion of the peasants'rights and the impacts on the increase of peasants'income of the dual social structure in the transitional period by the following points. The agricultural management system centering on grain production confines peasants'managerial autonomy, and limits their selection space. The restrictions on grain circulation and grains price have seriously damaged peasants'benefits and so have blocked the increase of agricultural operations income. The imbalance of the rural fanacial system transfers the country capital into the cities, and then impacts the economic development in the rural area and the earning level of peasants'financial property. The restriction of the dual social structure of urban-rural separation on the rural labor mobility rises the cost of the peasants'migration, deteriorates the social environment of peasants'outgoing for employment, and blocks the increase of peasants'wage imcome. Meantime the dual taxation system burdens the peasants with the cost of the public product of the rural region, such as education and medical health, which gives peasants, a low-income group, an unfair tax burden, excludes them from the social security system, deprives the necessary support and protection from the weak agriculture that has great contribution to ecological environment protection and state's stability, and consequently reduces the peasants'income from transfers..From the perspective of reforming the dual social structure of urban-rural separation, accelerating the transition of the dual economic structure, and enlarging the protection to the weak"peasant"group, this paper brings up the following countermeasures and proposals: to focus on developing the labor-intensive industry and county industry to create employment opportunity; to build up an equal and justified idea, avoid unreasonable restrictions to peasants'business activities, eliminate the discrimination in the labor market, establish an urban-rural unified and opening competitive labor market, promote the migration of labor force, and expedite the process of urbanization; to adequately consider the peasants'contribution to ecological environment protection and state's stability, and then strengthen the support and protection of government to the peasants'income and the agriculture; to accelerate land circulation and expand peasant's scale of operation; to reform the land requisition system, and protect farms'land rights; to innovate the dual taxation system, and realize the integration of both the rural and uban education and social security; to establish the peasants'organization, and upgrade peasants'bargaining position in the market.