Abstract The urban areas of our country face the dual problems of widening income gap and continued consumption slump. The authors selected the 20% highest income group (high-income group) and 20% lowest income group (low-income group) in urban areas as the representative classes of urban residents and used the income gap between these two classes to represent the income gap within urban areas. By establishing the optimal income gap theoretical model based on consumption maximization and using the data of 1985-2009 statistical yearbook and MATLAB mathematical software, the authors measured the optimal income gap within the rural areas of our country and provided a significant frame of reference for the income redistribution aiming at expanding consumption
2011, Vol. 28 
