Rising Inequality in China: Housing Privatization and Other Factors

Harvard's Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies presents Terry Sicular as part of the New England China Seminar.

Speaker:
Terry Sicular, Visiting Professor, Dept. of Economics, Harvard University; Professor, Dept. of Economics, Social Science Centre, University of Western Ontario

Under the leadership of Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, China announced a shift in its development policy from a policy program that mainly emphasizes economic growth to one that pursues a "harmonious society." The harmonious society program was a response to rapid increases in inequality during the 1990s, and its aim has been to ensure that the benefits from growth are widely shared. However, have these benefits from growth been widely shared?  Has income inequality increased or decreased during the Hu-Wen era?  Drawing on recent findings from the China Household Income Project, a collaborative survey research project monitoring changes in incomes and inequality, Professor Sicular will discuss factors contributing to rising inequality in China in the 2000s.

Terry Sicular is professor of economics at the University of Western Ontario. She received her PhD from Yale and has taught at Stanford and Harvard Universities. She is a specialist on the Chinese economy and has been studying and travelling to China for more than 30 years.  Her recent research examines incomes and inequality in China, as well as related topics such as educational attainment and its intergenerational transmission, and the impact of housing reforms on household income and wealth.  She has published in economic and China field journals, and she is coeditor of Inequality and Public Policy  (2008).  She is an ongoing participant in the China Household Income Project, a collaborative research project that conducts a nationwide household survey and monitors trends in China's incomes and inequality.  Her publications with Chinese coauthors have been awarded the Zhang Peigang Award in Development Economics and the Sun Yefang Prize for Economic Research.

Dinner Option
We welcome participants who wish to attend both sessions of the New England China Seminar to join colleagues for a buffet dinner at 6:30-7:30 pm, in Room S030. The dinner cost is $15 per person ($10 for students). Due to space limitations, we will accept 30 reservations on a first come first serve basis. Advance reservation and payment is required. Please register by clicking here before noon on Thursday, January 26, 2012.