Long-Run Impacts of China's WTO Accession on Farm-Nonfarm Income Inequality and Rural Poverty

Anderson, Kym ; Huang, Jikun ; Ianchovichina, Elena

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ACCESSION PROCESS;    ACCESSION PROTOCOL;    ADEQUATE SAFETY NETS;    ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE;    AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-3052
RP-ID  :  WPS3052

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Many fear China's accession to theWorld Trade Organization (WTO) will impoverish its ruralpeople by way of greater import competition in itsagricultural markets. Anderson, Huang, and Ianchovichinaexplore that possibility bearing in mind that, even ifproducer prices of some (land-intensive) farm products fall,prices of other (labor-intensive) farm products could rise.Also, the removal of restrictions on exports of textiles andclothing could boost town and village enterprises, so demandfor unskilled labor for nonfarm work in rural areas may groweven if demand for farm labor in aggregate falls. Newestimates, from the global economywide numerical simulationmodel known as GTAP, of the likely changes in agriculturaland other product prices as a result of WTO accession aredrawn on to examine empirically the factor rewardimplications of China's WTO accession. The resultssuggest farm-nonfarm and Western-Eastern income inequalitymay well rise in China but rural-urban income inequalityneed not. The authors conclude with some policy suggestionsfor alleviating any pockets of farm household poverty thatmay emerge as a result of WTO accession.