HAIKOU - Senior researchers have proposed measures for income distribution reform in China's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) to increase residents' income and narrow the nation's widening wealth gap.
- e! I- V9 l: F Su Hainan, an expert from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said the amount of residents' income in the GDP should increase by 4 to 5 percentage points in the next five years.+ m! v3 l) e/ T5 H" t0 M; U( P$ _% q
While China's GDP growth skyrocketed at double digits over the past two decades, the amount of residents' income in the national GDP has been falling.; ]% L/ t, o" k# b
Residents' income accounted for 53.4 percent of GDP in 1990, while the figure fell to 39.7 percent in 2007, according to data from China Society of Economic Reform.3 g. g" l+ q/ W: d& t' M) _/ ]
China must first raise residents' income, instead of expanding the size of the economy, to keep the world's second-largest economy from faltering, said Chi Fulin, director of the China Institute for Reform and Development based in Haikou, capital of Hainan province. O, T1 l/ @& W0 P
"The annual growth rate of residents' income should not be lower than 8 percent in the next five years, so as to be in step with the GDP growth rate." he said.
$ |( C; }9 Z1 a0 f These experts participated in a discussion of income distribution organized by the National Development and Reform Commission and have already submitted proposals to the leadership for review.
B D' q) M. ~7 u& D The commission is working on a detailed proposal on distributional reform, and the full details will be revealed in March, Su said.
$ U8 T. Z# O- t# w' h Income distribution reform is a central issue in China's 12th Five-Year Plan, the draft of which was discussed at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 17th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in October.
7 M- U6 n |; ^& }/ {" Q A The CPC Central Committee said after a four-day meeting that in the five-year plan China will focus on stimulating domestic demand by raising residents' income.
2 S( W4 o4 F( y Economists said narrowing income disparities was also a challenging task that should be listed in the plan. j5 p8 \) Z) @/ }8 U5 [
China has one of the greatest wealth disparities in the world, with the richest 10 percent earning 65 times the average income of the poorest 10 percent, according to a study sponsored by Credit Suisse. A survey conducted by the Ministry of Finance in 2009 also found that the richest 10 percent of families own 45 percent of the total wealth of all urban residents.
( _1 c7 e: U. q Su said the income ratio between urban and rural residents reached 3.3:1, and it needs to be 3:1 in the next five years, while the income ratio between richest and poorest industries has risen to 15:1, and should be capped at 8:1.4 k$ `# K! O3 d: a1 r
The income of senior staff members in State-owned enterprises (SOEs) is 128 times higher than the national average, he said.2 P, F; E# ~$ V' R9 Q; x
"Industrial monopolies, which may get access to crucial resources at low cost, earn significant profits for their employees. SOEs should pay a higher level of dividends to adjust income distribution," said Song Xiaowu, president of China Society of Economic Reform.
$ P* A4 X. d+ ]% @; M/ V; N, b! h SOEs in other countries pay an average of 33 percent of profits as dividends to their governments while Chinese SOEs only pay 5 or 10 percent, according to a World Bank research report.
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发表于 2012-8-16 08:12:37
