Understanding urban wage inequality in China 1988–2008: evidence from quantile analysis

Appleton, Simon; Song, Lina; Xia, Qingjie

Abstract

This paper examines change in wage gaps in urban China from 1988 to 2008 by estimating quantile regressions on CHIPS data. It applies the Machado and Mata (2005) decomposition, finding sharp increases in inequality largely due to changes in the wage structure. During 2002–08, changes in the returns to education and experience have been equalizing. However, changes in other categories of wage differential—by sex, occupation, ownership, industrial sector, and province—widened inequality. The gender gap continued to rise, as did the gap between white collar and blue collar workers, and between manufacturing and other sectors.

Citation

Appleton, S., Song, L., & Xia, Q. (2014). Understanding urban wage inequality in China 1988–2008: evidence from quantile analysis. World Development, 62, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.04.005

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 12, 2014
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Feb 22, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 22, 2016
• Journal: World Development
• Print ISSN: 0305-750X
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-5991
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 62
• Pages: 1-13
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.04.005
• Keywords: China; labor; wages; quantile regression; inequality
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/994158
• Publisher URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X14001041