Agricultural Poverty and Inequality in 1930s China: Estimates of Gini and Engel Coefficients from Buck’s Data

Abstract

This chapter applies the Gini coefficient measure for income inequality to Buck’s 1929–1933 survey data for rural China in order to calculate the average income of agricultural hired labor and regional inequality in income. It analyzes the distribution and influencing mechanism of agricultural hired labor income using a nonparametric Gaussian kernel density estimation. Results show that there were regional inequalities but no polarization in average income in the 1930s. The average income of agricultural hired labor gradually increased with the levels of regional development conditions, but the relationship between intraregional inequality in income and regional economic development level generally followed a positive U-shaped trend. Unbalanced development in East China, Central China, and West China was the key factor leading to great inequality in such income at the national level.