Internal Spatial Differences in a Large Country: Consumer Price and Inequalities

Unbalanced price changes across regions cause consumption inequalities dynamic changes of the true-cost-of-living index(TCLI) and consumption inequalities in China. Results indicate urban households experienced a rising TCLI from 2002 to 2014, among which, Liaoning increased the most and Guangdong the least. Beijing’s TCLI was the highest and Sichuan the lowest over the same period. Since 2008, the unbalanced rise of consumer price has gradually diminished, and gaps between real and nominal consumption inequalities have narrowed. However, real consumption inequalities continue to rise, and low-income groups are affected the most by inflation.