Recent Trends in China's Distribution of Income and Consumption: A Review of the Evidence Recent Trends in China's Distribution of Income and Consumption: A Review of the Evidence

Abstract This paper examines recent trends in the distribution of income and consumption in China. National accounts data and household survey data from the National Bureau of Statistics both indicate a tendency for the incomes to rise faster in the East of the country than in the Center and the West, with particularly large changes in the 1990s. Similar though less pronounced trends are also observed in national accounts' estimates of household consumption. On the other hand, survey estimates indicate a relatively low level of regional inequality for both incomes and consumption, and no trend toward increased regional inequality for consumption. Official surveys also show that urban-rural gaps increased markedly in the early 1990s and then again after 1998, both nationwide and in most regions. They also indicate that incomes grew more rapidly in rich households than in poor households and that this trend accelerated after the late-1990s, both nationwide and within regions. The distribution of income and consumption was generally more equal within regions than nationwide and intra-regional distribution tended to be more equal in the Center and the West than in the East. Several studies use alternative surveys to address shortcomings in the official survey estimates, suggesting similar trends over time. They indicate that official survey estimates probably underestimate incomes but there is disagreement about the extent of urban-rural gaps. A few other studies also suggest that accounting for internal migration (ignored by most inequality measures) would greatly increase inequality in urban areas. There is also evidence suggesting the convergence of incomes among regions during the immediate post reform period to 1990 or so and the lack of convergence in the 1990s, but the evidence regarding regional distribution is also inconsistent in many respects

The Influence of Industry-Level Concentration, Exporting and Foreign Ownership on Plant-Level Innovation: Evidence from Taiwanese Electronics The Influence of Industry-Level Concentration, Exporting and Foreign Ownership on Plant-Level Innovation: Evidenc

Abstract This paper examines the influence of three industry-level characteristics, producer concentration, exporting, and foreign ownership, on plant-level innovation in Taiwan's electronics industries. Electronics plants are particularly important in Taiwan, accounting for particularly large portions of the exports and innovation and this case is thus of interest to many analysts and policy makers. After controlling for numerous plant-level factors affecting innovation, the results provide evidence of an inverted-U relationship between concentration and innovation, with concentration leading to higher innovation propensities in plants when concentration is low and lower innovation when concentration is high. These results also reveal evidence that plant-level innovation propensities tended to be relatively high in industries where export propensities and MNC presence were high, with the influence of exporting being somewhat larger than that of MNC presence. However, both of these relationships were much stronger in 2002-2003 than earlier years, and the relationship to MNC presence was most likely insignificant in 1998-1999. JEL Classification: F14, F23, L11,L63, O3

Multinationals, Technology Upgrading, and Wages in Urban and Rural Indonesia

The author examines whether foreign direct investment has an effect on regional disparities in a developing country. For this purpose, the author compares the magnitude of productivity and wage spillovers derived from foreign presence to local firms in different locations. Using plant-level panel data for Indonesian manufacturing in 1990-95, the study finds supporting evidence for the hypothesis that the effects of foreign presence on the level and growth of productivity and wages in locally owned plants are greater in regions where multinational corporation affiliates tend to have a higher concentration as compared to other regions in the same province. The findings indicate that spillovers occur locally and diffuse to neighboring regions in part, and thus that the concentration of foreign direct investment in a certain region imparts a greater positive externality on one hand, and negatively affects regional disparities on the other. Copyright � 2008 The Author. Journal compilation � 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Exchange Rate Changes and Inflation in Post-Crisis Asian Economies: Vector Autoregression Analysis of the Exchange Rate Pass-Through

Macro-economic consequences of large currency depreciations among the crisis-hit Asian economies varied from one country to another. Inflation did not soar after the Asian currency crisis of 1997-98 in most crisis-hit countries except Indonesia where high inflation followed a very large nominal depreciation of the rupiah. The high inflation meant a loss of price competitive advantage, a key for economic recovery from a crisis. This paper examines the pass-through effects of exchange rate changes on the domestic prices in the East Asian economies using a vector autoregression analysis. The main results are as follows: (i) the degree of exchange rate pass-through to import prices was quite high in the crisis-hit economies; (ii) the pass-through to Consumer Price Index (CPI) was generally low, with a notable exception of Indonesia; and (iii) in Indonesia, both the impulse response of monetary policy variables to exchange rate shocks and that of CPI to monetary policy shocks were positive, large, and statistically significant. Thus, Indonesia's accommodative monetary policy, coupled with the high degree of CPI responsiveness to exchange rate changes was an important factor in the inflation-depreciation spiral in the wake of the currency crisis. Copyright (c) 2008 The Ohio State University.