中国城乡社会安全网的覆盖面与横向公平性问题

Social Safety Net Coverage in Urban and Rural China:The Issue of Horizontal Equity

在市场转型的过程,中国政府在社会安全网的重新编织上作出了极大的努力。社会救助体系开始制度化,近四千万贫困人群从中受益。但是,社会安全网的发展并不平衡。农村地区贫困人口多,但社会救助受益者反而少,甚至众多生活在赤贫状态下的农民没有这项权利。由于救助标准的差异,很多地区依照当地生活标准处于赤贫状态的民众也无权享受社会救助。社会安全网的健全,必须重视横向公平的实现,即让不同地区的贫困人群能够享受大体相同的社会救助。

In the course of the market transition, the Chinese government has made tremendous efforts to reweave a social safety net. Social assistance has been institutionalized, benefiting near 40 million people. Nevertheless, the development of social safety net is uneven. The population of the poor in the countryside is large, while the number of social assistance beneficiaries relatively small. Many peasants who live in destitution are not entitled to receive social assistance. Many urban poor people who live under extreme poverty according to local standard of living are also not entitled to receive social assistance as well. To improve the functioning of social safety net, it is necessary to pay attention to the issue of horizontal equity; that is to say, poor people in different localities should enjoy similar social assistance.