Income Inequality and Civil Disorder: Evidence from China

Rising income inequality and the surge of civil disorder are two important socio-economic phenomena in contemporary China. This article empirically explores the relationship between inequality and the occurrence of mass incidents at the county level. The results show that in counties with higher income inequality, mass incidents tend to happen with a larger probability. Two psychological transmission channels exist: income inequality will make individuals not only feel unhappy and unsatisfied with their lives but also feel unsatisfied with the government, both of which will lead to a larger occurrence possibility of mass incidents. A significant proportion of mass incidents are associated with the encroachment on citizens’ economic interests and on the relationship between the public and the government.