The regional disparities of socio economic development in rural Jiangsu Province, China *

Since the implementation of reform and open door policy in China, Jiangsu has become one of the provinces which have the highest speed of economic development. With the implementation of the uneven development strategy, Jiangsu has witnessed a widening dichotomy in levels of socio economic development: southeast showing rapid improvement and north showing little improvement, particularly in rural areas. Based on factor analysis, it is argued that foreign investment, agricultural productivity, the character of regional economic structures, and the level of urbanization all contribute in varying ways to the inequalities in levels of socio economic development in different regions of Jiangsu. According to the levels of socio economic development, eleven regions are categorized into three groups.