Institutional Research On The Income Gap Between Urban And Rural Residents In China

Since the adoption of the policy of Reform and Opening Up, our domestic economy has developed at a high speed. The income of both urban and rural residents has increased to a great extent.To research Income gap between urban and rural residents is not only helpful for building the new communism country while revolving its problem but also forcing the procedure of welfare society by balancing the development steps between urban and rural areas. However, in the mean time, the gap between them tends to expand. This will affect the further going of innovation directly, the continuous development of economy, the social stability and the construction of a well-to-do society in an all-around way.Based on Property Right theory, Institutional Change and Innovation theory with analysis methods of quantity, history and dynamics, this dissertation aims at probing into the income gap between urban and rural residents through Empirical Analysis from an institutional view.Firstly, by choosing the index of income gap between urban and rural residents, per capita annual disposable income of urban households and per capita annual net income of rural households, it provides a measure to the gap and concludes that since 1978 the income gap has expanded after a reduce. Besides, it also analyzes the gap according to different phrases. Next, with the history from 1949 and related data the dissertation focuses on the institutional sources causing the income gap between urban and rural residents. It considers those lean policies towards certain industries adopted before Reform and Opening Up as the historical factors contributed to the income gap. Such as the strategy of heavy industry priority development, the price scissors of industrial and agricultural products…etc. In addition, the systems of divided management to urban and rural areas, for instance, household register system, public goods provision institution social security system and fiscal and tax system, serve as essential reasons. Moreover, property right difference causes the expansion of income gap between urban and moral residents while the path-dependence in the institutional change intensifies the gap.