A considerable literature exists on the measurement of income inequality in China and its increasing trend. Much less is known, however, about the driving forces of this trend and their quantitative contributions. Conventional decompositions, by factor components or by population subgroups, only provide limited information on the determinants of income inequality. This paper represents an early attempt to apply the regression-based decomposition framework to the study of inequality accounting in rural China, using household level data. It is found that geography has been the dominant factor but is becoming less important in explaining total inequality. Capital input emerges as a most significant determinant of income inequality. Farming structure is more important than labour and other inputs in contributing to income inequality across households.

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Purpose With a fast-growing Muslim population and consumer income, the demand for halal products by Chinese Muslims has expanded strongly. However, literature addressing Chinese Muslims’ consumption is limited, and their demand for halal products is little understood. This study aims to investigate what affects Chinese Muslims’ demand for halal products, with a focus on halal personal care products. Design/methodology/approach A survey of 500 respondents was conducted to collect cross-sectional data in northwest China. Data were processed and analysed with a logit model. Findings Apart from faithfulness, reliability of recommendations, product price, product availability and halal authenticity are most important determinants influencing the purchase of halal products by Chinese Muslims. Research limitations/implications In this study, the focus is only on Muslims from China’s Northwest. Due to various constraints, the cluster and convenience sampling methods are used. Practical implications The findings are invaluable for governments and industry bodies to form policies to better meet the burgeoning demand for halal products by Chinese Muslims. They are also very invaluable for producers and exporters who intend to penetrate the halal market in non-Muslim-dominant countries like China. Originality/value Studies on understanding the needs of Muslims in non-Muslim countries are limited. Given the sheer size of the Muslim population in China, understanding their demand for halal products and influential determinants concerning such demand adds to the literature and helps the industry to better serve and capitalise on the growing market.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this study is to examine key factors that affect cattle farmers' selection of marketing channels and draw implications for China's beef supply chain development. Design/methodology/approach -A questionnaire was designed and face-to-face interviews were conducted with a random sample of 153 farmers located in three major cattle producing regions across China. Findings -Several variables related to transaction costs (chiefly, in the form of negotiation costs and monitoring costs), as well as socio-economic factors, were identified as of significant influence on farmers' choices of cattle marketing channels. Research limitations/implications -Further research should be conducted to measure the effects of risk preference in marketing decisions. Caution needs to be exercised when generalising the findings of this study to cattle farmers in other regions that are significantly different from the surveyed ones. Practical implications -This study will contribute to a better understanding of cattle producers' marketing channel selection. Further, it will contribute to identifying which factors encourage or discourage farmers from using forward contracts; information needed urgently by private and public policy makers. Originality/value -This paper presents a model and case study that show how transaction cost minimisation affects the adoption of vertical coordination. Studies examining this area for China are scarce and this paper makes an important contribution to the literature.

The remarkable economic changes occurring within China since 1978 have resulted in a striking alteration in food consumption patterns, and one marked change is the increasing consumption of meat. Given China's large population, a small percentage change in per capita meat consumption could lead to a dramatic impact on the production and trade of agricultural products. Such changes have major implications for policy makers and food marketers. This paper concentrates on meat consumption patterns in the home in China. A censored linear approximate almost ideal demand system model was employed in the study, and major economic parameters were estimated for different meat items. Data used in this study were collected from two separate consumer surveys -one urban and one rural in 2005.