Abstract
This article examines regional economic growth and income disparities in the three north-easterm provinces of China (i.e., Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces) by using such techniques of regional analysis as weighted coefficient of variation and shift-and-share analysis. Major findings are as follows. First, a shift-and-share analysis based on employment data by industry confirms that inefficiency of state-owned enterprises, especially in the heavy and chemical industry, is a major cause of the relative sluggishness of these provinces in the 1980s and 1990s. Second, regional income inequality measured by weighted coefficient of variation over the 1952-92 period presents several distinct cycles reflecting changing relative roles of each province in the development of China. Finally, a sectoral decomposition analysis using income data by industry shows the dominance of secondary industry in the determination of regional income inequality as it accounts for more than 50 percent of the squared weighted coefficient of variation over the period.
