Regional Inequality in Contemporary China

Qinghua Zhang

and

Heng-fu Zou

This paper surveys the literature on regional inequality in contemporary China. It reviews the trend of convergence or divergence of real GDP or income across different regions in China since 1952, and examines the degree of regional inequality using different measurements. It then discusses various factors that may cause the increasing regional inequality and the empirical evidences correspondingly. Finally it gives policy implications.