Question

Why do you think there is an increasing gap between the rural and the urban population in China?

Answer 1

Answer:

With a large number of farmers migrating to cities in search of jobs, theoretically, the gap between urban and rural areas should be narrow. However, the statistical data show that the gap has been gradually widening since 1985 and that the disposable income gap between urban and rural residents has expanded to about 3.33 times after 2003, which reflects the sharp contradiction between theory and statistics.

According to the current statistical principle, if the incomes of such migrating farmers are included in that of the urban residents based on the place of residence, will it mean that as more farm workers earn in the cities, the gap will become wider between urban and rural areas?

The income of a farm worker who migrates alone without his family should be included in that of the rural areas. According to the sample survey of the National Bureau of Statistics, the total income of farm workers is computed by multiplying their monthly salaries by the number of farm workers migrating alone to urban areas. Then, this amount is deducted from the total income of the urban residents and included in the income of rural residents. After this adjustment, the rural per capita income increases significantly and the income gap between urban and rural areas falls from 3.33 to 2.4 times.

In recent years, the gap between urban and rural areas has gradually narrowed in general, although the gap remains wide. This conclusion conforms to both people's intuition and the basic theory of economics.

Correcting the statistical data does not mean that the severity of the gap between urban and rural areas can be ignored.

In recent years, the policies that encourage the transfer of the rural surplus labor force to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas have been found to be effective. Only the continuing encouragement to transfer the rural surplus labor force can narrow the income gap between urban and rural areas effectively.

Explanation: