中国城镇劳动力工资收入差距的长期演变

Long⁃Term Evolution of the Wage Gap in Urban China

随着中国经济的转型和共同富裕的不断推进,城镇劳动力工资收入差距不断扩大受到了学术界和管理层的广泛关注。本文使用1988—2018年中国家庭收入调查(CHIP)数据,考察了中国城镇劳动力工资收入差距的长期演变及其影响因素。研究结果表明,1988—2018年,中国城镇劳动力工资收入差距不断扩大。本文采用三种方法考察中国城镇劳动力工资收入差距扩大的影响因素,其中,采用明瑟(Mincer)工资方程的回归结果表明,城镇劳动力受教育程度对工资收入的影响持续上升;运用Shorrocks分解方法发现,受教育程度在工资收入分配中起到的作用不断加强,地区差异带来的影响不断弱化;使用反事实方法在将工资收入差距分解为条件分布(价格效应)和特征分布(组成效应)后发现,价格效应在工资收入差距扩大中起主导作用。本文的研究结果对于理解中国劳动力市场的演变、工资收入分配变化以及推动共同富裕具有重要参考价值。

Achieving common prosperity is one of the essential requirements of Chines⁃style modernization,and improving the income distribution system is a critical link in achieving the goal of common prosperity.Due to China􀆳dualistic economic structure,the gap between urban and rural development and income distribution remains large,significantly impacting the overall income gap.Against the background of a further increase in urbanization rate,the income gap of the urban labor force has an increasing impact on the income gap of the nation􀆳s residents.This paper explores the evolution and causes of the wage gap in urban China using data from the China Household Income Survey from 1988 to 2018.The findings show that during 1988-2018,the urban labor force􀆳s average annual wage increased by about 6%,but the wage gap kept widening.The benchmark regression results indicate that the return to education of the urban labor force has continued to rise,and the wage gap between different gender groups has been widening.Using the Shorrocks decomposition method,this paper finds that education,work experience,and region are the most important factors among the observable factors in determining wage inequality,with education playing an increasing role in the wage distribution,the influence of the work experience showing a U⁃shaped change and the influence caused by regional differences keeping weakening.Using the counterfactual method to decompose the wage gap into conditional distribution(price effect)and characteristic distribution(composition effect),this paper finds that the price effect plays a more significant role in explaining the rising wage gap and the composition effect is less potent in explaining wage inequality.The results in this paper validate that the widening wage gap is embedded in the evolution of the wage formation mechanism,which has an essential reference value for understanding the evolution of China􀆳s labor market,changes in the wage distribution,and promoting common prosperity.Main policy recommendations are as follows.First,the government should further improve the labor market,strive to eliminate labor market discrimination and create a level playing field,and strengthen the protection of fundamental rights of disadvantaged labor.Second,the government should deepen the reform of the income distribution system,establish a fair and competitive employment system and a wage distribution system with equal pay for equal work,curb the widening wage gap,and achieve social equity.Third,the government should attach importance to the critical role of education in narrowing the income gap,ensure equitable access to education,promote educational equity by enhancing the universality of education,continuously enhance the quality of education,and equalize investment in human capital.