Financial Development And The Urban-rural Income Gap

The relationship between financial development and economic growth has been frequently discussed recently, but that between financial development and urban-rural income inequality has much less been researched. By the further widened Gini coefficient, urban-rural income inequality now becomes the focus of economics field, more and more researchers begin to study the inner relationship between it and financial development. This paper set up a micro model, combined Kuznets inverted-U shape curve empirically analyzed time series data during the period of 1978-2005, and found that a simulated inverted-U shape curve is not presented between the two; on the contrary, the income inequality tends to be more and more serious, and behaves differently in different phases. The paper further divided the entire sample into three periods: 1978-1991,1992-2005 and 1984-1997, and found in first two periods the urban-rural income inequality present a simulated U shape curve, but in the third period it presents a simulated inverted-U shape curve. Seen from the entire sample, the inequality has been extended by the financial development in the forms of waves for 26 years. Therefore we may draw a conclusion: on present stage the financial development has caused the urban-rural income inequality expended, and it is not conforms to the Kuznets hypotheses. It is unknown whether will be a simulated inverted-U shape curve, instead, China is at the left half side of inverted-U curve, the inequality is still on the rise, the urban-rural income inequality will further expand in the future. Finally, the paper further discussed the non-regular reason that caused the income inequality, and countermeasures that may reduce the inequality.