Zhang-Yue Zhou

Income Inequality in Rural China: Regression-based Decomposition Using Household Data

A considerable literature exists on the measurement of income inequality in China and its increasing trend. Much less is known about the driving forces of this trend and their quantitative contributions. Conventional decompositions, by factor components or by population subgroups, provide only limited information on the determinants of income inequality. This paper represents an early attempt to apply the regression-based decomposition framework to the study of inequality accounting in rural China, using household-level data. It is found that geography has been the dominant factor but is becoming less important in explaining total inequality. Capital input emerges as a most significant determinant of income inequality. Farming structure is more important than labor and other inputs in contributing to income inequality across households.

At-Home Meat Consumption in China: An Empirical Study

The remarkable economic changes occurring within China since 1978 have resulted in a striking alteration in food consumption patterns, and one marked change is the increasing consumption of meat. Given China’s large population, a small percentage change in per capita meat consumption could lead to a dramatic impact on the production and trade of agricultural products. Such changes have major implications for policy makers and food marketers. This paper concentrates on meat consumption patterns in the home in China. A censored linear approximate almost ideal demand system model was employed in the study, and major economic parameters were estimated for different meat items. Data used in this study were collected from two separate consumer surveys – one urban and one rural in 2005.

Transaction costs and cattle farmers’ choice of marketing channels in China: A Tobit analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine key factors that affect cattle farmers’ selection of marketing channels and draw implications for Chinas beef supply chain development.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was designed and face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with a random sample of 153 farmers located in three major cattle producing regions across China.Findings – Several variables related to transaction costs (chiefly, in the form of negotiation costs and monitoring costs), as well as socio‐economic factors, were identified as of significant influence on farmers’ choices of cattle marketing channels.Research limitations/implications – Further research should be conducted to measure the effects of risk preference in marketing decisions. Caution needs to be exercised when generalising the findings of this study to cattle farmers in other regions that are significantly different from the surveyed ones.Practical implications – This study will contribute to a better understanding ...

Achieving food security in China: past three decades and beyond

Purpose - The paper aims to review and assess Chinas food security practice over the past three decades with a view of drawing implications for further improving its food security in the future. Design/methodology/approach - A normative food security framework is used to assess Chinas food security achievements and examine any remaining and emerging issues in its pursuit for food security. Findings - China has done well in achieving grain security in the past three decades. However, it cannot be concluded that China has achieved its food security according to the normative food security framework. This is because there are serious problems in the aspects of food safety and quality, environmental sustainability, and social stability. To achieve long-term food security, China has to tackle the wide spread issues of unsafe foods and foods of dubious quality, environmental pollution and degradation, and the establishment of a social security system. Originality/value - Examining Chinas food security practice over the past three decades can generate experiences and lessons valuable not only for China, but also for other developing countries in their efforts to achieving national food security. Issues are identified to which the Chinese government needs to pay attention in order to improve Chinas food security in the future.

Grains In China: foodgrain, feedgrain and world trade

This book addresses the dynamics of Chinas grain production, consumption and trade with a particular emphasis on Chinas demand for feedgrain vis-a-vis its demand for foodgrain and the likely implications of this on the international grain trade given that China is now a member of the WTO. The book provides the reader with insight into the latest developments in Chinas foodgrain and feedgrain consumption and draws attention to the rising importance of feedgrain (and the relative decline in importance of foodgrain) in the overall Chinese grain economy. It also offers deliberations on many important issues concerning Chinas grains that are currently hotly debated.

Rising Consumption of Animal Products in China and India: National and Global Implications

Over the past two decades, the consumption of animal products has increased rapidly in China and India, driven by rising income and large populations. Such strong demand for animal products could have substantial impacts on both their own and global food and feed demand and supply. This paper examines the nature of rising demand for animal products in China and India and discusses national and global implications.

The public distribution systems of foodgrains and implications for food security: a comparison of the experiences of India and China

The issue of food security has been around for a long time and the right to adequate food and to be free from hunger has been repeatedly affirmed in a number of documents adopted by the United Nations (for example, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1966; and the Rights of the Child in 1989). Nevertheless, by the early 1990s, there were still more than 800 million people, mostly in developing countries, who did not have enough food to meet basic nutritional needs. This led the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to assemble a World Food Summit in 1996, in which 194 countries took part and during which the Rome Declaration on World Food Security was drawn up. The Summit called on the international community to cut the number of hungry people by half to about 400 million by 2015. However, progress towards achieving the target, as reviewed in the World Food Summit: five years later (June 2002) has remained disappointingly slow (FAO 2002). According to FAO (2004: 6), in 2000–02, the number of under-nourished people worldwide remained as high as 852 million, including 815 million in the developing countries.

Technical efficiency of food processing in China: the case of flour and rice processing

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the technical efficiency of wheat and paddy rice processing in China. Understanding the level of technical efficiency of food processing helps to decide whether efforts are warranted to improve this efficiency. Studies on Chinas technical efficiency of flour and rice processing are scarce. This paper fills this gap. Design/methodology/approach - With a unique set of firm-level survey data collected by Chinas State Statistical Bureau, this study adopts a stochastic frontier model to investigate the technical efficiency of flour and rice processing. Findings - The technical efficiency for both flour and rice processing is low in China, being only about 50 per cent. On average, rice processing firms have slightly higher technical efficiency than flour processing firms. It is also found that a significant proportion of firms experienced negative growth of technical efficiency during the time period of investigation. Originality/value - Each year, some 300 million tonnes of wheat and paddy rice are processed in China. Any small improvement in technical efficiency is translated into huge economic gains. Further, a tiny improvement in flour or rice output rate is equivalent to an enormous increase in food supply, contributing to Chinas food security. The paper confirms the need and potential to raise technical efficiency in China for wheat and paddy rice processing.

What determines China's trade balance dynamics: a disaggregate analysis of panel data

Chinas huge trade surplus has attracted much interest around the globe from people of different walks of life. What has contributed to Chinas trade surplus has been a puzzle. Many researchers have attempted to discover the determinants that are responsible for Chinas trade imbalance but their findings are inconclusive or debatable. This paper offers new insights into the determinants of Chinas trade balance. In this study, the re-export role of Hong Kong in the trade of Chinas mainland is examined and the actual level of bilateral trade flows between China and each of its major trading partners is then re-estimated. Both these treatments are the first time employed in the literature, representing a major innovation in studying Chinas trade balance. The analysis with re-estimated trade data reveals that labour costs, income, foreign direct investment (FDI) and the exchange rate are all important determinants of Chinas trade surplus. However, the low labour cost has a much greater impact on Chinas trade surplus, followed by FDI. The exchange rate is also important but not as critical as many others have claimed.

Who is Going to Supply the Milk to China's South?

Chinas dairy industry has experienced rapid expansion in recent years, with an average annual growth rate of 23.8 percent from 2000 to 2006. However, there exists a serious geographical distribution imbalance in milk production and consumption. Approximately 85 percent of Chinas milk is produced in northern China, where 40 percent of the countrys population reside. In contrast, only about 15 percent of the milk is produced in Chinas south, where 60 percent of Chinas population reside. This has resulted in a significant gap between milk production and consumption in southern China and this gap is expected to rise. This paper considers Chinas milk demand and supply situation, analyzes the likely potential for China to expand its milk production and explores options for meeting milk demand-supply shortages. Policy and trade implications are discussed. Copyright (c) 2008 The Authors Journal compilation (c) 2008 Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.