China's Provincial Growth Dynamics

Abstract

China’s rapid overall growth since 1978 masks significant differences in relative economic performance across its provinces. This paper finds that, while per capita income of poor provinces are catching up with those in the rich, the relative income distribution appears to be stratifying into a bimodal distribution—the coastal provinces gravitating toward one mode, and the remaining provinces toward the other—with economic structure and policies playing important roles in the growth dynamics.Provincial growth; convergence; twin peaks