ABSTRACT
This chapter examines economic development and conditions as well as urbanization in the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hainan, Fujian, and the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia. The key variables include: economic scale; natural conditions; openness; the development of private enterprises; the reform of state enterprises; and the situation of urbanization. The chapter shows that the five provinces differ in their extent and mode of urbanization as a result of different stages of development and economic conditions. It aims to compare the economic and natural conditions of the five provinces based on 2000 data and to compare the development of the provinces dynamically using data starting in 1988 when the Hainan province was first established and ending in 2001. The income disparity is measured by the ratio of urban per capita disposable income to rural per capita net income. Jiangsu province has the lowest ratio—1.892—in the nation among all provincial economies.
