Mobility and agency: Private sector development in rural central China

Economic inequality is a continuing challenge for China. According to a recent World Bank report, China's Gini Coefficient rose to .47 in 2009, from .28 thirty years ago, indicating rising income inequalities. The rising rural-urban income gap is particularly challenging, as incomes of urban residents are now 3.3 times greater than rural incomes.2 In response to this, the goal of "inclusive growth" (growth which benefits all economic strata and regions) has become central to the design of China's 12th Five-Year Plan (FYP), in line with the commitment of President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to achieving a "harmonious society" in China.