| Sumario: | This article examines the relationship between market distance, inter-provincial income levels and urban-rural income inequality in China. It uses the curve estimation method to determine the best-fit models for the relationship. Regions near the market are found to have high urban and rural income levels and low urban-rural inequality. As distance increases, rural income declines faster than urban income, resulting in rising urban-rural inequality. Myrdal's concepts appear to be applicable to the Chinese experience of urban-rural inequality, and to explain why rural income declines with market distance faster than urban income. In remote regions, cities may have exerted a ‘backwash’ impact on their hinterlands, while cities in provincial municipalities and autonomous regions near the market may have yielded spread effects. A model is proposed to describe the relation between market location and urban-rural, urban and rural inequalities in China. The article compares market distance with other factors that affect urban-rural inequality and provides theoretical and policy implications for reducing inequalities to achieve sustainable development. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
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