Urban-rural interaction in China: historic scenario and assessment

Purpose - Urban-rural interaction in China has evolved over time and presented features in different periods since 1949. The aim of this paper is to measure urban-rural interaction in China in a 50-year period from 1958 to 2007, and to see if it bears resemblance to the historical evolution. Design/methodology/approach - The paper historically reviews urban-rural interaction in four periods after 1949. Then, it uses principal component analysis (PCA) and assesses this interaction in the study period. Findings - The quantification of urban-rural interaction bears resemblances to its historical evolution. Reform and opening-up as well as the rural-favored policies contribute a lot to the increase of urban-rural interaction. Originality/value - The paper systematically reviews the evolution of urban-rural interaction in China, and analyzes the features of this interaction in different periods since 1949. It introduces PCA and measures urban-rural interaction.