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Urban–Rural Income Disparity and Urbanization: What Is the Role of Spatial Distribution of Ethnic Groups? A Case Study of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Western China

2010; Routledge; Volume: 44; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00343400903401550

1360-0591

Huhua Cao,

Philippine History and Culture

Abstract Cao H. Urban–rural income disparity and urbanization: what is the role of spatial distribution of ethnic groups? A case study of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Western China, Regional Studies. Since economic reforms in 1978, China's economic growth and urbanization has occurred alongside dramatic increases in regional inequality, and a corollary threat to sustainable development and social cohesion. Using the case study of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Western China, this research clearly demonstrates that the spatial distribution of ethnic minorities reflects not only their spatial segregation, but also the degree of their socio-economic exclusion from the majority. As the income gap between the minority and majority population increases, the inclusion of minorities in the country's economic reforms is becoming increasingly critical for the future development of China. Cao H. Urbains L'écart des revenus urbains–ruraux: quel rôle la distribution géographique des groupes ethniques joue-t-elle? Etude de cas de la région autonome de Xinjiang Uyghur dans l'ouest de la Chine, Regional Studies. Depuis les réformes économiques de 1978, la croissance économique et l'urbanisation de la Chine sont allées de pair avec un creusement des inégalités régionales et une menace corollaire pour le développement durable et pour la cohésion sociale. A partir d'une étude de cas de la région autonome de Xinjiang Uyghur, la recherche montre bien que la distribution géographique des minorités ethniques reflète non seulement leur ségrégation géographique, mais aussi l'importance de leur exclusion socio-economique de la majorité. Au fur et à mesure que l'écart se creuse, l'inclusion des minorités dans les réformes économiques du pays devient de plus en plus critique pour ce qui est du développement futur de la Chine. Ecart des revenus urbano–ruraux Urbanisation Distribution géographique Groupes ethniques Xinjiang Ouest de la Chine Cao H. Einkommensdisparität zwischen Stadt und Land und Urbanisierung: Welche Rolle spielt die räumliche Verteilung ethnischer Gruppen? Eine Fallstudie in der autonomen Region Xinjiang Uyghur in Westchina, Regional Studies. Seit den Wirtschaftsreformen von 1978 wurden das Wirtschaftswachstum und die Urbanisierung in China von dramatischen Steigerungen der regionalen Ungleichheit und einer daraus folgenden Bedrohung der nachhaltigen Entwicklung und gesellschaftlichen Kohäsion begleitet. Anhand einer Fallstudie in der autonomen Region Xinjiang Uyghur weisen wir mit unserer Studie eindeutig nach, dass sich in der räumlichen Verteilung ethnischer Minderheiten nicht nur deren räumliche Segregation widerspiegelt, sondern auch das Ausmaß ihrer sozioökonomischen Abgrenzung von der Mehrheit. Mit einem steigenden Einkommensgefälle zwischen der Bevölkerungsminderheit und -mehrheit wird auch die Integration von Minderheiten in die Wirtschaftsreformen des Landes zunehmend wichtig für die künftige Entwicklung Chinas. Einkommensdisparität zwischen Stadt und Land Urbanisierung Räumliche Verteilung Ethnische Gruppen Xinjiang Westchina Cao H. Desigualdades de ingresos urbanos–rurales y urbanización: ¿Cuál es el papel de la distribución espacial de los grupos étnicos? Un estudio de caso de la región autónoma de Xinjiang Uyghur en China occidental, Regional Studies. Desde las reformas económicas de 1978, el crecimiento económico y la urbanización de China han estado acompañados de aumentos considerables de las desigualdades regionales, y como corolario una amenaza al desarrollo sostenible y la cohesión social. Con ayuda de un estudio de caso de la región autónoma de Xinjiang Uyghur, en nuestra investigación demostramos claramente que la distribución espacial de las minorías étnicas son un reflejo no sólo de su segregación espacial sino también del grado de su exclusión socioeconómico de la mayoría. Según aumenta la diferencia de ingresos entre la minoría y la mayoría de la población, la inclusión de minorías en las reformas económicas del país es cada vez más importante para el futuro desarrollo de China. Desigualdad de ingresos urbanos–rurales Urbanización Distribución espacial Grupos étnicos Xinjiang China occidental Keywords: Urban–rural income disparityUrbanizationSpatial distributionEthnic groupsXinjiangWestern China Acknowledgements The present paper is based on the authors' research which was carried out in the context of a programme on urbanization and the development of minority regions. The authors thank two anonymous reviewers as well as Professor Anwaer Maimaitiming of Xinjiang Normal University, China, for their judicious comments. The authors are also grateful to Jing Feng and Ruibo Han, from the University of Ottawa, for their invaluable assistance in preparing the manuscript for publication. Notes The other four minority autonomous regions are Xizang Tibetan Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The northern economic belt includes Ürümqi city (Capital of the province), Changji city, Miquan city, Fukang city, Karamay city, Shihezi city, Kuytun city, Wusu city, Ürümqi county, Shawan county, Hutubu county, and Manas county. In order to use poverty relief funds in a planned and organized way, and to aid the poor effectively, the Chinese government has formulated a standard for key poverty-stricken counties to be aided by the state, and has identified a number of such ‘poverty-stricken’ counties. The standard for key poverty-stricken counties, defined in 1986, identified counties with a yearly net income of less than 150 yuan per person in 1985 as belonging to this group. The standard was subsequently adjusted over the years in accordance with economic development and the constant improvement of economic conditions of the poverty-stricken (State Council, Citation1994). There were nineteen cities in Xinjiang in 2000. Two of them were district-level cities, while seventeen were county-level cities. For convenience, all nineteen are referred to as county-level cities in this paper. Data sources are as follows: 1990 urban income, : Xinjiang Tongji Ju (Xinjiang Statistics Bureau) Citation(1991), pp. 259–260, table 12-9; 1990 rural income, : Qiu Citation(2005); 2000 urban income, : Xinjiang Tongji Ju (Xinjiang Statistics Bureau) Citation(2001a), table 3-39; and 2000 rural income, : Xinjiang Tongji Ju (Xinjiang Statistics Bureau) Citation(2001b), pp. 132–141. Since urban income from the statistical year book refers to the average employment wage, it represents only the income of those who have jobs. In order to calculate the average income of the entire population, the average wage of workers/average income of the province or district were used to estimate the value of each county's average income for the urban area. Multicollinearity (or collinearity) is usually detected between two or more predictor variables. When one independent variable correlates highly with another, the variables are said to be collinear, and when one such variable correlates highly with a combination of the remaining variables, there is multicollinearity (Hauser, Citation1974). Urban residential income is calculated as follows: The illiteracy rate used in this analysis is calculated from the total illiterate population within the total population of each county. The urban population is the sum of the ‘city population’ and the ‘town population’, which includes the non-agriculture population. It is important to note that intra-county migration counted for 72% of total migrations in Xinjiang in 2000. Inter-county/city migration represents a small proportion of total migrations; even in certain counties, the number is really small. Statistically, this ‘inter-county migration’ variable does not affect the result significantly. In order to respect a normal distribution of the dependent variable, a log10 transformation was performed. In fact, the Han population represented 57.4% of the total population in these cities, whereas the Uyghur population accounted for only 24.8% in 2006.