The structure of China's domestic consumption : analyses and preliminary forecasts

This paper is the final product of a cooperative research project conducted by staff of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing and the Development Research Department of the World Bank. Mainly based on previously unpublished data, household consumption patterns in China are analyzed, emphasising changes over time and differences between urban and rural areas and among households at different points of the welfare distribution. Though detail data on the structure of both income and consumption is presented, the analytical focus is on household consumption and its likely development up to the year 2000. The report contains formal statistical analyses of consumption patterns as well as policy oriented sections that discuss existing problems in China's market for consumption goods, and include proposals for solutions. The authors hope that the total is more than just the sum of its parts, but each section is self-contained and can be read as an independent paper on one major aspect of China's Domestic Consumption.