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11 - Multi-faceted Regional Inequality in China
- from III - Social Geography from a Global Perspective
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- By Yehua Dennis Wei, University of Utah, USA, Chi Kin Leung, California State University, USA
- Edited by Ashok K. Dutt, Professor Emeritus in Geography, Planning and Urban Studies, University of Akron, USA, Vandana Wadhwa, Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environment at Boston University, Massachusetts, Baleshwar Thakur, Former Head of the Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi,, Frank J. Costa, Professor Emeritus in Geography, Planning, Urban Studies and Public Administration at the University of Akron, USA.
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- Book:
- Facets of Social Geography
- Published by:
- Foundation Books
- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
- Print publication:
- 01 January 2012, pp 209-227
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- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
Regional inequality is an important area of academic inquiry and government policy. Scholars, however, disagree over the trend of regional inequality and the forces underlying it. Neoclassical doctrines suggest that regional differentials will eventually be equalized under efficient markets and factor mobility conditions, while divergence perspectives, especially dependency and structural schools, contend that spatial disparities are inevitable and self-reinforcing (Borts and Stein, 1964; Soja, 1980). Empirical evidence in developed and developing countries is mixed. This is especially so in transitional economies where the pace, scope and consequences of reforms are uneven.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has had a far-reaching impact on host economies, such as capital formation, employment, technology, trade, economic growth and core-periphery relations (Taylor and Thrift, 1982; Dicken, 1998). On the one hand, FDI is regarded as a dynamic force in economic development providing capital, creating jobs, spreading new technology, promoting trade and improving economic well-being. On the other hand, FDI is considered to be responsible for economic dependence, cultural imperialism and the intensification of core-periphery relationships in developing countries. The recent rapid globalization of economic activities and changing roles of government institutions further compound the patterns and processes of regional inequality. Globalization is increasingly recognized in the development literature as a factor that further marginalizes the periphery and generates new forms of poverty and inequality (Hirst and Thompson, 1996; Sassen, 1991). However, there is a lack of theoretically-informed empirical work on the impact of FDI on regional inequality in developing transitional economies.
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