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Agrarian Transformation and the Distribution of Fixed Productive Assets in China
Author(s) -
McKinley Terry
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
development and change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-7660
pISSN - 0012-155X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7660.1993.tb00494.x
Subject(s) - fixed asset , distribution (mathematics) , china , agrarian society , economics , income distribution , business , economic system , agricultural economics , agriculture , geography , production (economics) , inequality , microeconomics , mathematics , mathematical analysis , archaeology
The distribution of fixed productive assets is more unequal than the distribution of land in rural China, but the two distributions to some degree offset each other because of economic specialization and the role of rural industrial and commercial enterprises. Surprisingly, the distribution of fixed productive assets has the most equalizing effect on the distribution of rural wealth. This is partly due to the mixed ownership patterns of assets. The households with the highest values of fixed productive assets are not particularly rich, and neither are assetless households particularly poor. The distribution of fixed assets is a key reason why the distribution of wealth in rural China is actually more equal than the distribution of income, a result which is most unusual for a developing country.