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The effect of the state sector on wage inequality in urban China: 1988–2007

Xia, Qingjie; Song, Lina; Li, Shi; Appleton, Simon

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Authors

Qingjie Xia

LINA SONG LINA.SONG@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Professor of Economic Sociology & Chinese Studies

Shi Li

SIMON APPLETON SIMON.APPLETON@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Professor of Development Economics



Abstract

This paper examines the effect of the public sector and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) on wage inequality in urban China using China Household Income Project data. It applies quantile regression analysis, the Machado and Mata decomposition to investigate how urban wage inequality was affected by the changes in wage structure and employment shares of the public sector and SOEs. We find that since the radical state sector reforms designed to reduce overstaffing and improve efficiency in the late 1990s, urban wage gaps were narrowed due to the reduction in the employment share of the state sector; the wage premium of the state sector in comparison with the non-state sector increased significantly; and changes in the wage structure of the labour market caused the rise in urban wage inequality.

Citation

Xia, Q., Song, L., Li, S., & Appleton, S. (2014). The effect of the state sector on wage inequality in urban China: 1988–2007. Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, 12(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/14765284.2013.875282

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 22, 2013
Publication Date Jan 23, 2014
Deposit Date Feb 19, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies
Print ISSN 1476-5284
Electronic ISSN 1476-5284
Publisher Routledge
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 12
Issue 1
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/14765284.2013.875282
Keywords China, public sector, SOEs, urban wage inequality, wage gaps, quantile regression, counterfactual analysis
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/721237
Publisher URL http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14765284.2013.875282

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