The beneficial effects of becoming part of the global economy

You of course know the cliche "a rising tide lifts all boats." It's true. But only for boats.

China says the wealth gap between its urban and rural citizens is now one of the largest in the world.

A new survey by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences found that in 2002 urban residents earned three times more than their rural counterparts. ...

But the man in charge of the study, Li Shi, says even the new figures do not paint a true picture of the disparity which he claims is even wider.

From BBC News for February 26.

Much of the gap arises from corruption and economically discriminatory policies affecting peasant farmers. The point here, however, is that as China has become more integrated into the world economy, the gap has grown: The benefits go to a relative few while the many fall even further behind.