Income Inequality In China Essay

In recent decades income inequality has become an emergent epidemic, specifically for countries experiencing rapid economic growth. Since the Mao era, China has grown increasingly susceptible to this problem as it has developed to become the second largest economy in the world. To further contextualize China’s economic growth, Wang Jisi explains, “As recently as 2001, China’s total GDP was only 12.8% of U.S GDP. In 2011, China’s GDP reached $7.3 trillion, amounting to 48.5% of U.S. GDP” (Lieberthal and Jisi, 9). Although this rapid development has brought about higher standards of living for Chinese citizens, it has also facilitated the drastic divergence of incomes throughout the population. It is apparent that the main source of income inequality has originated from both the “rural-urban” and “inland-coastal” geographical divides. In other words, one’s …show more content…
This could be due to the fact that education itself provides a necessary set of skills to be successful economically, or the fact that individuals who actively pursue education are naturally more motivated to pursue careers that provide greater economic benefits. Nonetheless, throughout China there is a drastic difference between the education of the rural/inland citizens and that of the urban/coastal individuals. “In China, education tends to be higher in urban areas than in rural areas and higher in coastal, more developed regions than in inland, less developed regions” (Xie and Zhou, 4). Ultimately, throughout China’s history “education inequality” – be it due to gender, ethnic, or geographical differences – has been a major problem, and thus, contributed to the ever more prominent economic divide. Low economic mobility within China – a potential result of the complex, bureaucratic nature of the government and its policies – has become even more stagnant as