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Jiaping Wu
This article investigates the dynamic relationship between economic development andthe identification of ethnic minorities and argues that identification of China’s ethnicminorities manifests itself at various levels. At the national level, the introductionof market mechanisms and economic growth initiatives have been concentratedpredominantly in the coastal areas and metropolises, and are thus increasingly distantfrom ethnic minorities, a disproportionate majority of which reside in the western partsof the country. This growing regional disparity has placed ethnic regions andpopulations in a distinctly unfavourable position in terms of economic engagementand development. Regional development in the ethnic-minority homelands has beencharacterized by the representation and reinvention of ethnic cultural traditions and theproduction of cultural economies. Unequal economic growth has resulted in a massivemigration of ethnic minorities to the cities. Simultaneously, urban development hasreinforced ethnic identity, particularly through urban labour-market development.Urban and regional development has, in turn, led to the production, activation andmagnification of ethnic identity at individual and group levels.
