Top incomes and inequality in China

Qinghai Li and Yangcheng Yu

Chapter 19 in Handbook on Inequality in China, 2025, pp 455-473 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter explores the role of top incomes in China's income and wealth inequality. Section 1 highlights the importance of studying top incomes. Section 2 reviews top-income data sources, beginning with international data and then focusing on China-specific sources. Section 3 explains the methodologies for integrating top-income data with household surveys to create a balanced dataset. Section 4 presents revised income and wealth inequality indices for 21st-century China. The revised indices reveal a substantial increase in top income and wealth shares when accounting for the missing rich, although these shares remain below those in the United States. While income inequality in China surged at the beginning of the 21st century, it has since stabilized and shown a downward trend over the past decade; however, wealth inequality has continued to grow. Section 5 examines factors influencing top incomes, such as state-owned enterprises, urbanization, digital economy, and regional disparities. Section 6 concludes with policy implications.

Keywords: Top earners; Income; Wealth; Inequality; Polarization; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035317790
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