An Analysis of Path-Dependent Characteristics and Weakening Lock-in Effects of Regional Wage Differentials in China
WANG Kai-yong1, WANG Kai-ke2, FENG Li3
1.Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; 2.School of Economics, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China; 3.School of Economics and Statistics, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Abstract：
To rationally reduce regional wage differentials and achieve common prosperity, it is needed to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. This paper attempts to analyze the macro-market potential, micro-labor productivity and external diseconomies’ impacts on the regional wage level decisions in China through path-dependent features, lock-in effect and its weakening effects. The paper builds the regional wage levels affect factor model through the Dixit and Stiglitz model firstly, and then verifies the main factors’ effect on the regional wage level through robust fitting of the model by using the system GMM method. In the path-dependence characteristic and lock-in effect test part, it is found that the path-dependence and the weakening lock-in effects existing in the factors of the market potential and the labor productivity can better explain the pattern of regional wage level and its evolution in our country. The discovery has important practical significance on better understanding of the regional wage level pattern in China. At last the article puts forward several policy recommendations from the perspective of reasonably narrowing the existing regional disparities in wage level and promoting regional coordinated development.
WANG Kai-yong, WANG Kai-ke, FENG Li.An Analysis of Path-Dependent Characteristics and Weakening Lock-in Effects of Regional Wage Differentials in China[J] Economic Survey, 2015,V32(5): 1-7
2015 
