How Migrant Workers’ Wage Affect Chinese Urban-Rural Income Gap

It is widely believed that with the increase in the scale of Chinese rural labormobility in recent years, the income gap between urban and rural areas is not onlyreduced, but also expanding. It is contrary to the dual economy theory. In this regard,some scholars believe that Chinese reality is that the flow of surplus labor in ruralareas just migrant workers transfers. That only occupational transfer is not to obtainurban status. And compared to urban residents, the level of wages of migrant workersis too low; otherwise, some scholars believe that the reason for this paradox is due toChinese statistics illusion. That reflects the income gap between urban and ruralresidents in China Statistical Yearbook of urban resident’s per capita disposableincome and rural per capita net income of distortion of data exists in. How the truth?This article is based on the theme of the controversy surrounding the relationship ofthe rural labor mobility and urban-rural income gap discusses.First, the first part of the article sort out and analyze the relevant theoreticalliterature to introduction of the Kuznets inverted ‘U’-type hypothesis and analysis.That Chinese urban-rural income gap has begun to narrow. And this section highlightsthe Lewis dual economy theory, it clearly defines the dual economy structure, pointedout that the differences in the modern and traditional sectors, describes the innermechanism in the impact of the income gap and provides a theoretical basis for thedevelopment of developing countries.The second part of the article is to make a theoretical analysis between the wages ofmigrant workers urban-rural income gap. It is the threshold formula of wages formigrant workers affects the income gap between urban and rural areas. The migrantworkers’ wage growth to narrow the income gap, the key is whether the wages ofmigrant workers over a certain threshold. The factors that determine this thresholdcoefficient mainly rural population proportion in the total population, urbanpopulation proportion in the total population and previous urban-rural income ratio.Through the collation of data analysis that over the past decade, the wages of migrantworkers is certainly conducive to narrowing the income gap between urban and ruralareas.The third part of the article analyzes the statistics caliber. Analysis of the urban andrural residents in China Statistical Yearbook, Bureau of Statistics indeed omitted fromthe wages of migrant workers. The distortion data causes the income gap betweenurban and rural areas have been exaggerated. The total income of rural residents andthe total income of urban residents have increased in varying degrees by adjusting thewages of migrant workers. This is mainly the migrant workers higher income tofarmers that engaged in agricultural production, relative to the rural areas comparedwith urban residents, the income of migrant workers are relatively low. Sore-allocation of the wages of migrant workers return to the countryside, the totalincome of urban residents is also a corresponding increase in. The adjusted data show that the urban-rural income ratio relative to official statistics is significantly small.However, compared with other countries, Chinese urban-rural income gap is stillhigh.The fourth section analyzes the reason for the existence of such labor mobilityparadox in China. And in the fifth part of a long-term mechanism to narrow theurban-rural income gap in China. And the concluding part is the full-text contentsummary to overview the article main point.