China's GDP: Examining Provincial Disparity
Abstract
Widening provincial disparities have accompanied the rapid economic growth in China. This paper analyses the evolution of China's provincial GDP per capita disparity between 1952 and 1998. First, a brief literature review is presented. Then, an examination of some basic indicators of disparity is carried out, and a test for unconventional convergence is performed to explore the dispersion features. Subsequently, a more comprehensive regression analysis, allowing insights into the evidence of unconditional convergence and highlighting the main determinants of growth in two main periods of recent history of China (i.e., pre-reform an post-reform) is presented. Finally a discussion and conclusion are provided.