Data from China’s national rural and urban household surveys are used to measure and
explain the welfare impacts of changes in goods and factor prices attributable to
accession to the World Trade Organization. The price changes are estimated separately
using a general equilibrium model to capture both direct and indirect effects of the
initial tariff changes. The welfare impacts are first-order approximations based on a
household model incorporating own-production activities calibrated to household-level
data and imposing minimum aggregation. The results show negligible impacts on
inequality and poverty in the aggregate. However, diverse impacts emerge across
household types and regions, associated with heterogeneity in consumption behavior
and income sources, with possible implications for compensatory policy responses.