China's changing regional disparities during the reform period

I examine regional disparities in China during the reform period (1978-94) based on the latest measures of provincial per capita CDP. Results reveal a "U-shaped" pattern in regional inequality over time. Regional inequality i n per capita GDP among the 30 provinces of China diminished as reforms prog ressed until 1990, after which it started widening. This diminishing trend was due to a significant decline in income inequality among provinces in th e coastal region. A further test indicates that an increase in per capita G DP in the southern coastal provinces is the main reason for declining regio nal inequality in China during the early reform period (1978-90). Rising CD P in the southern coastal belt also led to widening regional disparities be tween coastal and interior regions after 1978. As a result, regional inequa lity in per capita GDP among the 30 provinces has worsened since 1990. From 1992 to 1994, regional disparities between coastal and interior provinces became more significant than the traditional North-South inequality in the Chinese space economy within the context of uneven regional development.