Influence of China's Population Mobility on the Change of Regional Disparity since 1978

Abstract

In this study, an econometric model about population mobility and economic growth is used to show the unbalanced distribution of population mobility in different region was remarkably related to that of regional economic growth and the large number of movers had a significant influence on regional economic growth and developing disparity. On the basis of this study, we conclude that China's population mobility also had a significant influence on the structure and tendency of regional disparity, and the population mobility enlarged the regional disparity of the whole nation, the East, and the West since the reform, besides the Midst during 1978 to 1987. Furthermore, the population mobility accelerated the increase of regional disparity in the whole nation, the Midst, and the West, but at the same time, retarded that in the East in the period of 1996–2003.