Annals of the Association of Economic Geographers

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    Over the past four decades, China has experienced the world's fastest economic growth, accompanied by one of the most rapid increases in income and wealth inequality globally. Particularly notable is the significant gap in regional income disparity, constituting a major social contradiction in modern China.
    However, since 2005, the coefficient of variation measuring disposable income inequality among regions appears to have stabilized and may even be showing signs of decline. This paper aims to analyze the changes and levels of regional inequality over the past two decades of recent new data, the so-called “per capita disposable income of households by region”. It also underlines the “National New-type Urbanization Plan” and “Chinese Path to Common Prosperity” measures that may explain this new trend. 　　
    Additionally, efforts are made to uncover the trend of population migration towards major cities and elucidate the relationship between employment destination choices and income disparities or opportunities.
    This study examines the reality and effects of these policies, primarily focusing on income disparities among provinces, changes in income disparities within provinces at the district and county level, and their impact on population growth. Newly released statistical indicators such as "Disposable Income of All Residents" (similar to Japan's prefectural income) are utilized.
    As a result, provincial income disparities are gradually diminishing, which correlates with the improvement of the economic status of migrant workers at the bottom and the effects of industrial decentralization towards the central and western mainland. Conversely, income disparities at the district and county level within provinces exhibit significant variations, likely attributable to regional economic characteristics and competitive advantages. Alongside trends in the employment choices of university graduates, the pattern of regional disparities is shifting from the traditional urban-rural and coastal-inland divide to a new pattern of central-peripheral, major cities-rural areas in China.

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