개혁시기 중국의 지역격차실태와 영향

The purpose of this study is to reveal the actual state of developmental disparities among different regions in China since 1978. This study investigates the causes behind these disparities, and discusses several policy implications that emerge from this study. In present day China, the existence of large economic disparities between coastal(eastern) and inland(middle and western) regions is an undeniable fact. Especially since the beginning of the 1990s, the gap has started to grow again. The problem of regional disparities is likely to come to a head soon. In 1999, reflecting the fact that more than 60% of the fixed capital(infrastructure) investment was allotted to the eastern region, 67% of the gross industrial product for that year was attained by those region. There are three major causes for such changes in regional disparity: the special favour from central government to eastern region, move toward a discriminative market economy, and reform of fiscal systems. UNDP's Hunam Development Report for 1997 listed China as one of the countries where regional gaps had become excessively large. If the Chinese government failure to appreciate the importance of the subjective dimension of regional disparities could have fatal political consequences.