Urban-rural inequality is a significant concern within a country's modernization process.This paper outlines the crucial impact of urban-rural inequality on China's imbalanced and insufficient development.It systematically examines disparities in income,wealth,public services,and social welfare between urban and rural areas,with a focused exploration of the unique institutional factors behind them.The article is grounded in a framework of rights analysis,and proposes that the fundamental cause of urban-rural inequality lies in the differences between open access orders,which is different from the explanations provided by the structuralist theories.Overall,China's reform,coupled with the liberalization of rights,has propelled substantial economic growth and elevated living standards.However,the distinct dual system resulted in a restricted opening of rights for farmers compared to urban residents,which became a major cause of the intensification of dual structures and the widening of urban-rural inequality.To address urban-rural inequality,it is essential to discard the urban-rural dichotomy thinking,characterized by unidirectional urbanization and the repetition of rural construction.Instead,there is a need to promote integrated urban-rural development,facilitate a bidirectional flow of factors,and consistently expand the rights of farmers in both rural and urban domains.This can be realized through the rural industrial revolution,reforming property rights systems,ensuring equal access to basic public services,and restructuring the people-land-industry-village system.
Urban-Rural InequalityUrban-Rural Dual SystemDifferences Between Open Access Orders
NETL
NSTL
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