Chinese imports and income inequality: Evidence from six East Asian economies

Yee Hang Mathew WONG

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

The study adopts a mixed‐methods design with quantitative and narrative accounts of inequality formation in Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Imports from China, but not elsewhere, have a strong positive impact on domestic income inequality. With growing volume of cheaper imports, local industries lose competitiveness or even relocate to China in some cases. This paper suggests manufacturing employment as one of the causal pathways from Chinese imports to rising income inequality, as the wage gap between the top and bottom widened following the loss of middle‐wage manufacturing jobs. Copyright © 2021 Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)120-133
JournalAsian-Pacific Economic Literature
Volume35
Issue number1
Early online date23 Feb 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2021

Citation

Wong, M. Y. H. (2021). Chinese imports and income inequality: Evidence from six East Asian economies. Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, 35(1), 120-133. doi: 10.1111/apel.12317

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