ABSTRACT
In China, rural households earned 2366.4 yuan of net income per capita in 2001, which is five times larger than what it was in 1985-397.6 yuan. Rural household incomes consist of wage income, transfer income, property income, and income from household business. The income from household business, which occupies the largest portion of overall rural household incomes, is earned mainly from the planting sector, which accounted for 34.2 percent of the total rural household income in 2001. The ratio of income from the planting sector of total rural household incomes had been about 50 percent between 1985 and 1995. However, it has diminished dramatically to about 35 percent in the last decade. Nevertheless, income from the planting sector is still the most important source of income for rural households in China.
