This volume examines trends in inequality in the People's Republic of China. It contains findings on inequality nationwide, as well as within the rural and urban sectors, with an emphasis on public policy considerations. Several chapters focus on inequality of income; others analyse poverty, inequality in wealth, and the distribution of wages. Attention is given to groups such as migrants, women, and the elderly, as well as the relationship between income and health care funding and the impact of the rural tax reform. All contributors to this volume make use of a large, nationwide survey of Chinese households, the product of long-term co-operation between Chinese and international researchers that is unique in its scope and duration. Using these data, the contributors examine changes in inequality from 1988 to 2002.

Review of the hardback:'Although rapid widening income inequality in China is widely recognized as one of the country's foremost policy challenges, analysis of income distribution trends has been severely hampered by data weaknesses. This volume is a major step forward in providing policy-makers and analysts with the necessary reliable data on long-term trends in key indicators of income distribution from across China, including some particularly welcome new data from domestic migrants living in urban areas. That data provides the basis for a set of papers by an outstanding group of Chinese and foreign scholars, in which the linkages between recent trends and public policy - both the ways in which policy has influenced those trends, and the implications of these trends for current policy - are rigorously and imaginatively analyzed.'

Bill Bikales - UNDP, China

Review of the hardback:'This volume has been eagerly awaited by the entire community of economists and sociologists researching China, since it reports on the third phase of the China Household Income Project, the most important, as well as the longest-running, household research program in China. This superb volume fully delivers on the promise, providing the clearest and most detailed view of the dramatic changes in income distribution occurring in China into the current millennium. The results directly challenge key aspects of the popular wisdom about growing inequality in China. Moreover, the volume goes well beyond simply describing patterns of change, and for the first time shows and analyzes the impact on Chinese households of specific government policies on health care, social security, wage policy and taxation. Essential reading.'

Barry Naughton - University of California, San Diego

Review of the hardback:'Great books have three basic ingredients. They are based on high quality data, strong analysis and an understanding of the analyst of the issues. This edited volume, Inequality and Public Policy in China, is rare indeed because it has them all - in abundance. The editors, Gustafsson, Shi and Sicular, should be congratulated on producing a piece of scholarship that not only provides the reader with a realistic and balanced view of income inequality, but also on putting China’s case into perspective and beginning to explain the structural and policy bases for one the most important issues facing the nation’s development today.'

Scott Rozelle - Stanford University

Review of the hardback:'China in the reform era has experienced not only extraordinary economic growth, but also dramatic increases in inequality. Rising income inequality and what to do about it has become a pressing concern for China's leaders. The present volume, which presentsanalyses by leading experts using the best available data on China's income distribution, represents a benchmark for judging these issues.'

Martin Whyte - Harvard University

'… a rare fusion of rigorous empirical analysis, clear presentation, good-quality data and thoughtful attention to public policy concerns. … The book starts with an excellent introduction which should become a standard text for anyone looking for an accessible review of trends in income distribution over China's recent reform period. … This book stands as a tribute to long-standing research partnerships, collaborative relationships between Chinese and international scholars, and to the donors who have supported multiple rounds of the survey. it is a model of research, and of research collaboration, deserving support and emulation.'

Source: The China Journal