Are China's Financial Reforms Leaving the Poor Behind - Harvard ...

highest in Zhejiang (4470 yuan), followed by Jiangsu (3650 yuan), Sichuan (2060 yuan)and Shanxi (1558 yuan). 5In each province, a representative sample of counties was selected from differentregions of the province and in areas with different levels of economic and industrialdevelopment. Eight counties were selected in Jiangsu, seven in Zhejiang, and six in bothSichuan and Shanxi. Within each county, four townships were randomly selected afterstratifying by industrial output per capita. In total, 108 townships in 27 counties werechosen, and all ABC branches and RCCs in these townships were surveyed. Not alltownships have ABC branches so the sample of ABC branches is smaller than the sampleof RCCs. In each county, separate interviews also were conducted with the county ABCbranch and the county RCC association, the headquarter banks for township ABCbranches and RCCs. In each township, additional interviews were conducted withgovernment officials and a sample of enterprise managers.Most of the information was garnered from face-to-face interviews with bankmanagers, and available historical data on assets, liabilities, income, and expenditureswere copied from accounting books. The survey focused on the period between 1994 and1997. Because the surveys in Sichuan and Shanxi were conducted a year later, anadditional year of data was collected (for 1998).The data have several unique features. First, the data cover a period of majorreform in China’s financial system and in the operation of China’s rural financialinstitutions. Second, the surveys provide for the first time very detailed information onfinancial performance, regulation, and governance of China’s rural financial institutions,5 The 1998 China Statistical Yearbook reports 1997 rural income (living expenditures) per capita of 3684(2839) yuan in Zhejiang, 3270 (2488) yuan in Jiangsu, 1681 (1440) yuan in Sichuan, and 1738 (1145) yuanin Shanxi.9