IFAD RESEARCH SERIES 27 - Asia's Rural-Urban Disparity in the Context of Growing Inequality

Asia's Rural-urban Disparity in the Context of Growing Inequality, July 2018; ISBN 978-92-9072-841-2

34 Pages Posted: 9 Dec 2018

See all articles by Katsushi S. Imai

Katsushi S. Imai

The University of Manchester - School of Social Sciences

Bilal Malaeb

Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI)

Date Written: November 15, 2018

Abstract

This study offers empirical evidence on the rural-urban gap in the context of growing inequality in Asia. First, China and India explain the trends in regional inequality given their large populations, signifying their importance as major contributors. Overall, China’s income inequality is characterized by rural-urban disparity, but the inequality within rural and within urban areas has worsened, although the country has experienced very high economic growth. India is mainly characterized by high inequality within urban areas, despite a sharp reduction in urban poverty. India’s rural-urban income gap has narrowed in recent years. We also find that the rural-urban income gap has narrowed in many other countries, such as Thailand and Viet Nam. Second, our econometric results on the agricultural and non-agricultural income gap suggest that a higher non-agricultural growth rate tends to widen the rural-urban gap over time, while agricultural growth is unrelated to the rural-urban gap. Third, the rural-urban human resources gap in terms of educational attainment has increased in both China and India. Policies that promote agricultural growth and rural education are deemed important not only for reducing rural poverty but also for narrowing the rural-urban human resources gap.

Keywords: Rural-urban disparity, Inequality

Suggested Citation

Imai, Katsushi S. and Malaeb, Bilal, IFAD RESEARCH SERIES 27 - Asia's Rural-Urban Disparity in the Context of Growing Inequality (November 15, 2018). Asia's Rural-urban Disparity in the Context of Growing Inequality, July 2018; ISBN 978-92-9072-841-2, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3285058

Katsushi S. Imai (Contact Author)

The University of Manchester - School of Social Sciences ( email )

Oxford Road
Manchester, M13 9PL
United Kingdom

Bilal Malaeb

Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) ( email )

Queen Elizabeth House (QEH)
3 Mansfield Road
Oxford, OX1 3TB
United Kingdom

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