Tuesday, January 10, 2006
a few words from the wise one
[Permalink] Means and Medians (1/11/2006) The follow item appeared in Ta Kung Pao:
When it comes to income statistics, there are two numbers that are usually cited. The mean is the arithmetic average of all the incomes (that is, you add up the incomes of everybody and you divide that by the number of people (or households)). The median is the income level for which half the number of people make less than and the other half make more than. It is a virtual certainty that the mean is larger than the median (and this is true even during the Cultural Revolution when almost everybody made 36 yuan a month but there were still a few that made a little bit more). For example, in the United States, the mean household income is about US$75,000 but the median household income is only about US$44,000. The explanation is the Bill Gates effect -- the presence of Bill Gates will bring the mean income up significantly, but it will not affect the median all.
Now let us go back to the statement -- more than half of the peasants have family income lower than the national average. In other words, this is a statement that the median family income is lower than the mean family income. Nobody expects otherwise. This is a vacuous statement. What is it in the opening paragraph? The rest of the article is okay, but this statement is either stupid or else an attempt to mislead.
- 上海財經大學財經研究所都市農業經濟研究中心薛宇峰指出，目前中國農村中，低於平均收入水平的農戶數量在不斷增加，半數以上農戶的家庭收入低於全國平均水平，中國農民收入分配不平等程度日益嚴重。
- 專家指農民貧富差距拉大
2006-1-10【大公報記者吳斌北京九日電】上海財經大學財經研究所都市農業經濟研究中心薛宇峰指出，目前中國農村中，低於平均收入水平的農戶數量在不斷增加，半數以上農戶的家庭收入低於全國平均水平，中國農民收入分配不平等程度日益嚴重。
薛宇峰說，經過實證分析，從總體上看，近年來，按縣、鄉、村分組的中國農民人均收入的基尼系數，都表現出不斷增大的趨勢。換言之，中國農村居民收入分配的不平等在持續惡化之中，無明顯改善的跡象。
薛宇峰強調，經過比較研究，發現在中國糧食主產區中，除去極少數省份有顯著或輕微的改善外，絕大部分省區，特別是處於中等收入範圍的糧食主產省區，農村居民收入分配的不平等狀況，都有明顯惡化的傾向。
影 響中國農村收入分配不平等的原因是什麼？薛宇峰認為，有各種各樣的因素。其中，區域間農業生產結構的差異和非農產業分布不均勻，無疑對農村居民收入分配具 有重要影響。此外，自然條件等要素的結構、經濟發展的區域差異，對農民收入的影響也不應忽視。而農業生產資料價格急劇上漲，造成生產成本上漲，更是導致糧 食主產區農民增產不增收的重要因素。
分析人士指出，十六屆五中全會把建設社會主義新農村確定為 中國現代化進程中的重大歷史任務，增加農民收入也是「十一五」期間中央政府解決「三農」問題的著力點之一。以上雖為一家之言，但仍具有參考意義。正確對待 農民收入分配不平等問題，並採取行之有效的措施，在提高農民收入整體水平、縮小城鄉差距的同時，注意縮小農民間的收入差距，杜絕農村內部的兩極分化，仍是 刻不容緩。
- (in translation) According to Shanghai University of Finance and Economics' Finance and Economics Research Institutue's Urban-Rural Economics Research Center's Shi Yufeng, the number of farmers who make less than the average income is increasing. More than half of the peasants have family income lower than the national average. Therefore, the unequal distribution of income for the Chinese farmers are getting more serious every day.
When it comes to income statistics, there are two numbers that are usually cited. The mean is the arithmetic average of all the incomes (that is, you add up the incomes of everybody and you divide that by the number of people (or households)). The median is the income level for which half the number of people make less than and the other half make more than. It is a virtual certainty that the mean is larger than the median (and this is true even during the Cultural Revolution when almost everybody made 36 yuan a month but there were still a few that made a little bit more). For example, in the United States, the mean household income is about US$75,000 but the median household income is only about US$44,000. The explanation is the Bill Gates effect -- the presence of Bill Gates will bring the mean income up significantly, but it will not affect the median all.
Now let us go back to the statement -- more than half of the peasants have family income lower than the national average. In other words, this is a statement that the median family income is lower than the mean family income. Nobody expects otherwise. This is a vacuous statement. What is it in the opening paragraph? The rest of the article is okay, but this statement is either stupid or else an attempt to mislead.
# posted by J.C. : 9:10 AM
