Conclusions

Although we have not examined the state of freedom and happiness the people of China may

have enjoyed when the gates to global integration were opened in 1978, the evidence shows

that massive trade and investment flows have followed since reforms began, which has not

only stimulated rapid economic growth and structural change but it has also generated

significant improvement in real wages, especially from the 1990s. The advantages offered by

the seafront and an earlier focus by the government made the Eastern coastal provinces the

largest beneficiaries of globalization in China. Manufacturing value added and structural

change and wages have grown the fastest in these states. Nevertheless, the middle inland

provinces and federal territories of Jiangsu and Beijing have also benefited considerably

from the transformation. Although regional inequalities have widened as a consequence of

the faster development of the Eastern provinces compared to the Western provinces the

evidence shows that material progress has been felt by most provinces.