Multiscale and Multimechanisms of Regional Inequality in China: Implications for regional policy

Abstract

Research on regional inequality in China has generated controversial findings. This paper reveals that the trend for the last four and a half decades shows no clear divergent, convergent, or inverted-U patterns. I argue that regional inequality in China is sensitive to geographical scale and influenced by multiple mechanisms, and that the global and domestic contexts for China's regional development have changed dramatically. In particular, China's triple transitions-decentralization, marketization, and globalization-have fundamentally changed the mechanisms underlying regional development. Changes require new thinking on regional development strategies in China, which should emphasize developing non-state sectors, fully utilizing human resources, enhancing geographical targeting, and reforming urban and regional planning institutions.

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