Inequality of rural residents'income in China since the targeted poverty alleviation strategy:New trends,causes,and policy implications

Poverty and income inequality are problems faced by many countries including China.Since the implementation of Targeted Poverty Alleviation(TPA),absolute poverty has been eradicated,meanwhile,Chinese rural residents'income and inequality have experienced unprecedented new dynamics,but still,very few studies have focused on them.Hence,we attempt to examine the new trends in Chinese farmers'income inequality and to understand its causes during this period.We observe that China's urban-rural income ratio has been shrinking and the urban-rural inequality has been decreasing from 2014 to 2021.The reduction in the Theil index indicates a decrease in the regional inequality of farmers'income as well,and the decline in inter-regional inequality among eight economic zones contributes about 80%to increased equality.These new trends are caused by the fact that,with the TPA,the incomes of rural residents especially that in destitute areas,grew faster than that of urban residents and farmers in prosperous areas.The higher share of non-agricultural industry and agricultural mechanization level have significant positive impact on regional equality of farmers'income,while urban-rural dual structure has significant negative inhibitory effects.The lowest farmers'income and the highest inequality in the Northwest,and the slowest growth in the Northeast deserve more attention in rural Revitalization.From these findings,we propose four policy implications that would be applied to improve Chinese farmers'income equality,govern relative poverty,and achieve common prosperity in the post-poverty era.

Types and Optimization Paths Between Poverty Alleviation Effectiveness and Rural Revitalization:A Case Study of Hunan Province,China

Exploring the synergy types and optimization paths between Poverty Alleviation Effectiveness and Rural Revitalization is necessary for achieving the two centenary goals.Taking poverty alleviation counties in Hunan Province,China as an example,our study proposed an indicator to measure the synergistic development between Poverty Alleviation Effectiveness and Rural Revitalization using the multi-index integrated evaluation method.Then,the coupling types were classified based on both the proposed indicator and regional characteristics.Besides,the corresponding optimization path for each coupling type was proposed to promote the synergistic development of Poverty Alleviation and Rural Revitalization.Results are as follows:1)Lower synergy focused on the southwestern Hunan,while low synergy is widely distributed(such as the west,southwest,northwest,and midland).Moderate synergy is in the midland,such as Huaihua and Chenzhou cities.High synergy is distributed in Yongzhou,Huaihua,Xiangxi cities,etc.Besides,only Hecheng City belongs to the higher synergy.2)This paper proposes corresponding development paths for different development characteristics and main problems from multiple perspectives of the protection system,industrial planning,and rural market.Continuously consolidate and enhance the effectiveness of Poverty Alleviation and Rural Revitalization to achieve coupled and synergistic development of the two systems.Our research results can provide theoretical support for implementing Poverty Alleviation and Rural Revitalization in Hunan Province,China.

Poverty Alleviation Act:the Inevitable Product of the Development Law of Poverty Alleviation

Poverty alleviation is a grand project involving the whole society,and is related to the development direction of socialism and the process of national modernization.It is the basic national policy and major strategic deployment of China to eliminate poverty and improve people s livelihood under the new historical conditions.Therefore,in order to win the final victory of poverty alleviation and difficulties tackling,it is not enough to have only a policy system and an institutional system.It is also necessary to establish an effective legal system to regulate and restrain various poverty alleviation behaviors,which is the basic condition for ensuring the sustainable development of poverty alleviation.

Current Situation and Countermeasures of Agricultural Industry Development in Linyi under the Background of Poverty Alleviation

By summarizing current situation of modern agriculture in Linyi City,problems faced by the development of modern agriculture in Linyi City under the background of helping poverty alleviation are analyzed.They are mainly the low degree of farmers'organization and the low level of agricultural industrialization;the low overall quality of farmers and the weak ability to absorb science,technology and culture;weak agricultural infrastructure and deterioration of agricultural ecological environment;inadequate agricultural scientific and technological innovation and slow popularization and application of achievements.A series of solutions and countermeasures are put forward to improve the degree of farmers'organization,enhance farmers'quality,increase investment in agricultural infrastructure,and accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements.

Empirical Research on the Relationship between Education Poverty Alleviation and Rural Revitalization—Spatial Panel Simultaneous Equation Model Based on Provincial Panel Data

On the basis of using entropy weight method to measure China’s education poverty alleviation and rural revitalization evaluation indicators, using the panel data of 30 provinces in China (excluding Xizang, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) from 2012 to 2021, a spatial panel simultaneous equation model is constructed based on adjacency matrix, geographical distance matrix and economic geographical distance matrix deeply study the interaction mechanism and spatial spillover effects between education poverty alleviation and rural revitalization through the generalized spatial three-stage least squares method (GS3SLS). The results indicate that there is a significant spatial spillover effect and a positive spatial correlation between education poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, and there is a significant interactive effect between the two variables, while promoting each other positively. Therefore, the government should clarify the deep relationship between education poverty alleviation and rural revitalization based on the current background, and better consolidate and expand the effective connection between the achievements of education poverty alleviation and rural revitalization.

Research on Development Strategy of Tourism Supporting for Poverty Alleviation in West Hubei

West Hubei Circle referred to the eight cities and prefectures which were Xiangfan,Jingzhou,Yichang,Shiyan,Jingmen,Suizhou,Enshi and Shennongjia.The economic and social development in this area was lagging behind,with wide poverty area,large impoverished population,poor natural condition and weak development foundation.Owing to lack of investment sources,the poverty-overcoming cost and poverty-returning rate in this area was high.It was the key area of poverty alleviation of Hubei Province.On the basis of analysis of the features of poverty alleviation in poverty-stricken areas of West Hubei,with the internal relation between tourism and poverty-alleviation as the reference,the author proposed the conceptualization of linkage development of tourism and poverty-alleviation west Hubei and preliminarily analyzed the feasibility of the linkage development between tourism and poverty-alleviation.The author considered that tourism and poverty-alleviation could mutually complement each other in function.The cultural and ecological tourism resources in West Hubei were abundant and unique,high in resources taste.And tourism was an industry with high return and intensive capital.It could collect capitals,lands,talents and technologies,win a great deal of human,material,capital and information resources in West Hubei,so as the promote the amelioration of the rural infrastructure and living conditions and urban construction.Meanwhile,the basic strategy of poverty-alleviation was put forward,that is,establishing the development mechanism with government as the lead and enterprises as the subjects,the financing mechanism of diversified investments and wide-ranging financing.Besides,with tourism as the trigger,tourism supporting for poverty-alleviation and ecological cultural village would be developed simultaneously,assisted by community participation mechanism,so as to realize mutual benefit and win-win cooperation of tourism and poverty-alleviation.

The Model of Poverty Alleviation and Income Growth by Developing Plateau-characterized Agriculture and Its Achievements Analysis in Yunnan Province——a Case Study in Midu County, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture

The policy of taking the targeted poverty alleviation measures has been the mission of the age in propelling the 13th Five-year Plan and building moderately prosperous society. A good poverty alleviation model is of significance for the goal. The research introduced a poverty-stricken county-Midu County, Dali Bai Au- tonomous Prefecture, analyzed the basic approaches and the main achievements of ＂the model of poverty alleviation and income growth by developing plateau-charac- terized agriculture＂, and proposed some suggestions to promoting and applying this model. The research provides references for plateau-characterized agricultural devel- opment and targeted poverty alleviation strategy.

Income effects of poverty alleviation relocation program on rural farmers in China

This paper analyses the impact of the poverty alleviation relocation(PAR)program on rural household income and evaluates the heterogeneous income effects of various relocation modes,based on a panel dataset of relocated households from 16 counties in eight Chinese provinces.The results show that participation in the PAR increases the income of both rural and urban resettlers.More specifically,it has a significant positive effect on agricultural and wage income for rural and urban resettlers,respectively.Further analyses show that the income increase for rural resettlers was mainly due to agricultural technology training and that the income increase for town resettlers was attributed to medical security.For the village resettlers,policies should focus on strengthening the development of local industries and training of agricultural technologies.For the urban resettlers,non-agricultural employment and public services in the urban resettlement areas should be promoted.

Does poverty-alleviation-based industry development improve farmers'livelihood capital?

Targeted poverty alleviation is a unique approach adopted in China to help achieve the vision of a moderately prosperous society in all aspects and the"Chinese Dream".Industrial development as a means of poverty alleviation is an integral part of the"Five-pronged Poverty Alleviation Measures"Project of targeted poverty alleviation,and a critical foundation for other poverty alleviation measures.In this study,a comprehensive evaluation method was used to measure farmers'livelihood based on the framework of sustainable livelihood.Specifically,the effects of industrial development on farmers'livelihood capital were estimated by employing the propensity score matching combined with the difference-in-differences(PSM-DID)approach.Findings suggest that industrial development had a significantly positive effect on the livelihood capital of farmers.Industrial development can significantly enhance farmers'human,social and financial capital,while it cannot significantly affect the natural and physical capital.Industrial development had heterogeneous effects on farmers'livelihood capital,more efficiently impacting on the non-poor than the poor.The effects on farmers'livelihood capital varied across regions,with Guizhou experiencing a larger effect than Sichuan.However,the effect was insignificant for farmers in Gansu.To improve farmers'livelihood capital,it is necessary to take measures to strengthen their human capital,promote the innovation of financial products,and make good use of their social capital;it is also essential to strengthen the support of industrial development to the poor.

Poverty alleviation through e-commerce:Village involvement and demonstration policies in rural China

The diffusion of e-commerce has played a significant role in recent rural economic development in China.E-commerce is also considered as an efficient channel to alleviate poverty in rural China.Voluminous studies have investigated the contribution of e-commerce to agricultural development,yet it is lacking empirical evidence as to the effects of e-commerce on rural poverty alleviation.Since the year of 2014,in order to develop rural e-commerce,Chinese government launched the National Rural E-commerce Comprehensive Demonstration Project.This gradual involvement policy offered a natural experiment for evaluation of e-commerce.Based on village-level survey data from rural China and Heckit method,our study finds that rural e-commerce has a significantly positive effect on rural income.Moreover,the effect is inverted U-shaped for the relative-poverty villages.The estimation of the propensity scores matching model confirms that the results are robust.The following policy recommendations are proposed:(1)policy support to rural e-commerce should prioritize the povertystricken villages.By doing so,the marginal income effects of e-commerce will be maximized.(2)Investment in internet infrastructure and establishment of human resources for e-commerce in rural areas will have spillover effects,increasing rural income through the"digital dividend".

A Positive Mutual Impact between Inclusive Finance and Poverty Alleviation

The contradiction between profitability requirement of commercial finance and non-profitability nature of inclusive finance inhibits bankers' motivation in providing financial services to farmers,further restricting the already narrow financing channels for low-income rural households and preventing them from jumping out of the poverty trap.There is a mutual promotion relationship between inclusive finance and poverty reduction.On one hand,providing affordable and subsidized financial services to farmers can help them increase income steadily; On the other hand,the institutions reap a good payoff by business expansion,a thick base of loyal clients,as well as public recognition,which in turn stimulates the institutes to provide more financial products,improve their service quality and scale up the investment amount for lowincome farmers.Nevertheless,to set off this positive feedback loop process,a forcible intervention by government is needed.On the base of theoretical analysis and practical research,this article brought related advice for financial institutions in order to promote the development of inclusive finance and alleviate the financing difficulties of farmers households to realize poverty alleviation.

Off-farm employment and poverty alleviation in rural China

Two phenomena in the history of China's economic growth during the last four decades are the increase in the share of offfarm employment and the progress in poverty alleviation in rural China.Although both of them have been well documented in the literature,less is known about the linkage between the two.To better understand the role that off-farm employment has played in poverty alleviation in rural China is critically important not only for China but also for those countries that are trying to reduce poverty.Here,we examine the impact of off-farm employment on poverty alleviation in rural China.Using the data from two nationally representative household panel surveys(China National Rural Survey and China Rural Development Survey),this paper provides supporting evidence that off-farm employment contributes to poverty alleviation in rural China.Specifically,if household participation in off-farm employment increases by 10 percentage points,the likelihood for a nonpoor household to fall into poverty will decrease by 0.88 percentage point whereas the likelihood for a poor household to climb out of poverty will increase by 3.5 percentage points.In a word,off-employment can not only prevent rural residents to fall into poverty but also help those already in poverty climb out of it.

Synthesize dual goals:A study on China's ecological poverty alleviation system

How to break the vicious cycle of poverty and ecological degradation is widely concerned and discussed.In the poverty alleviation practices in China,ecological poverty alleviation(EPA)is regarded as an important way to synthesize the dual goals of poverty reduction and environmental protection and to achieve the win-win outcomes.Many Chinese researchers have fruitful research achievements on EPA yet they do not recognize that EPA is not a simple combination of various policies,but a complex system involving multiple policy instruments,governmental agencies,social forces,and agents.However,few studies abroad illustrate EPA in detail.They focus more on specific components of EPA such as payment for ecosystem services while overlooking the integral concept of EPA and practices from China.Based on field research in Guizhou Province,China,this paper proposes a framework of EPA with an effective multi-agent and co-government system,for demonstrating the concept and practice of EPA.With case analysis,we illustrate key elements in this system and their relationships,and how they play a vital role in pursuing win-win outcomes in environmental protection and poverty alleviation.The three dimensions of this EPA system have been discussed.The first is to strengthen the interaction among the agents.Many efforts should be made for establishing an efficient communication routine and a stable relationship among their interests.The second is to reinforce the connection between diverse elements in each policy subsystem,such as the systematization and coordination of the ecological industry development,the systematization of the links before,during,and after the relocation of ecological immigrants,etc.The third is to promote the interactions between the three subsystems,so that ecological enhancement,ecological compensation,and industrial development,and migration and relocation can promote each other,and ultimately promote the coordination of poverty alleviation and ecological protection in povertystricken areas.Thus,this paper analyzes how to establish the communication routine among the relevant agents of EPA,the interaction among the internal elements of the subsystems,and the relationship between the subsystems in series,trying to reveal the basic operating mechanism of the system.

Elite capture,the“follow-up checks”policy,and the targeted poverty alleviation program:Evidence from rural western China

Decentralized methods for targeting poverty are widely adopted in developing countries to improve the performance of various poverty alleviation programs.A common challenge for implementing successful decentralized targeting is the existence of elite capture.China has recently implemented a nationwide decentralized poverty targeting program,the targeted poverty alleviation(TPA)policy,to achieve the national goal of eliminating absolute poverty by the end of 2020.As the largest decentralized poverty targeting program in the world,TPA's successful implementation was believed to be threatened by elite capture in some earlier reports.Since 2015,a targeting correction mechanism,called"follow-up checks"policy,has been introduced.With the"follow-up checks"policy,the elites and other ineligible households who receive benefits under TPA were removed from the program.This paper investigates the elite capture phenomenon in TPA using village census data from a poverty-stricken county in 2017-two years after implementing the"follow-up checks"policy.We find no evidence of elite capture in TPA.The elites are unlikely to become beneficiaries or receive more benefits than non-elites.Our results contradict earlier findings that reported elite capture in TPA.We argue that the reason is the accountability emphasized by the central government in the"follow-up checks"policy.Our findings imply that having proper accountability is critical for improving targeting performance by global antipoverty initiatives.

Measurement and Promotion Strategy of Poverty Alleviation Effect through Ecological Tourism in Huanggang City

Huangang City is rich in ecotourism resources,in which more than 80%of ecotourism resources concentrate in poor countryside.According to the statistics,there are 4 tourism counties,15 famous tourism villages and 115 rural tourist attractions.But economic development in ecotourism scenic spots of Huanggang City is relatively backward,and the development of ecological economy is imminent,especially ecological tourism.Based on research results on poverty alleviation effect through ecological tourism at home and abroad,Huanggang City is taken as research object,and two input indexes(per capita comprehensive tourism income and per capita tourist reception)and three output indexes(per capita GDP,per capita net income of farmers,and per capita disposable income of urban residents)are used to establish evaluation index system of poverty alleviation effect through ecological tourism.Based on DEA-BCC model,11 counties(cities and districts)in Huanggang City are taken as decision-making units,and empirical analysis on poverty alleviation effect through tourism is conducted from three aspects:comprehensive efficiency,technical efficiency and scale efficiency.

Industrial Poverty Alleviation Model in Southwestern High-altitude Mountainous Areas of China——A Case Study of Industrial Poverty Alleviation of Xueshan Township in Luquan County of Yunnan Province through Planting Codonopsis pilosula

Due to the severe restrictions of natural conditions and ecological environment,high-altitude mountainous areas usually become the " hard bones" in the battle against poverty. Xueshan Township,Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County of Yunnan Province,located in the alpine valley of Jinsha River,is a major township with wide and deep poverty,and the incidence of poverty is up to 45. 00%. In recent years,Xueshan Township has insisted on the battle against poverty,made effort to develop the Codonopsis pilosula industry,and successfully developed a road to poverty alleviation through C. pilosula industry,and formed a unique industrial poverty alleviation model by the end of 2018,the incidence of poverty dropped to 0. 74%. Based on field survey and interview,this paper analyzes and summarizes the specific practices,main results,practical experience and promotion and application measures of the poverty alleviation model of C. pilosula planting industry in Xueshan Township,in the hope of providing certain reference for the targeted poverty alleviation in similar areas in Yunnan Province and other provinces of China.

Land Remediation Projects in Poverty-stricken Counties in Tibetan Areas Promoting Poverty Alleviation——A Case Study of Songpan County,Sichuan Province

Songpan County is a poverty-stricken county in the four provinces of China,one of the concentrated areas in China. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of land consolidation in Songpan County to promote poverty alleviation and development through specific cases. The results show that land remediation has improved agricultural production conditions,promoted agricultural efficiency,increased farmers' income,improved rural living conditions,promoted the development of urban and rural integration,improved the ecological environment,solved the problem that restricts the survival and development of poverty-stricken areas,enhanced the ability of farmers to develop themselves,raised the level of civilization in rural areas,and promoted poverty alleviation and development. The poverty alleviation and development has provided certain financial support for land remediation. It has promoted land remediation,and pointed out key directions for land remediation. It has an indirect promotion effect on land remediation.

The impact of the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme on the“health poverty alleviation”of rural households in China

This study investigates the impact of the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme(NRCMS)on rural households to escape poverty.We employ the instrumental variable method,the IVProbit model,to analyze the national data from the rural-resident field survey by the China Family Panel Studies(CFPS)in 2016.Based on the large-scale data,we found that,first,the hospitalization of family members is the key factor in increasing the risk of the family falling into poverty.The NRCMS has significantly reduced the likely risk of falling into poverty.Second,the impact of the NRCMS on poverty alleviation varies among groups with different levels of income.There is no impact on the upper-middle and high-income groups;in contrast,the NRCMS has substantially improved the capacity of low-income rural families to prevent poverty due to illness,especially for the lower-middle-income group.Third,there exist significant regional differences in the impact of NRCMS on the health poverty alleviation of rural households in China.The NRCMS has successfully reduced the risk of rural households in the western region falling into poverty,simultaneously,no significant impact on those in the eastern and central regions.In order to diminish and eliminate poverty eventually and boost rural residents'capacity for income acquisition,we propose the following:raise the actual compensation ratio of the NRCMS,control the rising expense of NRCMS by promoting the payment method reform,construct the comprehensive healthcare system in the western region,strengthen the medical security for the poor in remote area,and enhance the living environment for rural residents.

Study of poverty alleviation strategy based on labor force quality improvement and ecological protection in Western China

Fragile ecological environment and poverty correlate to and reinforce each other closely in Western China.At the same time,Western China is also the most prominent area of the knowledge and human poverty with very low labor force quality.On the basis of analyzing the characteristics of poverty in Western China,this paper studies the coupling relationship between fragile ecological environment and poverty in Western China,including the impacts of fragile environment on poverty occurrence and the effects of ecological construction on poverty alleviation.It also analyzed how low labor quality causes persistent poverty in the western region.At the end of the paper,strategies of diversity poverty alleviation in Western China are suggested based on sustainable development,including education improvement,ecological construction,industries development,infrastructure construction,planning institution innovation,and so on.

Are“Internet+”tactics the key to poverty alleviation in China’s rural ethnic minority areas? Empirical evidence from Sichuan Province

China has made great efforts to alleviate poverty in rural ethnic minority areas and targeted achieving the poverty-alleviation task by the end of 2020.Aba,Ganzi,and Liangshan,three of the poorest ethnic prefectures in Sichuan Province,Southwest China,have all implemented“Internet+”tactics since 2013,which have had the positive effect of increasing family revenues by improving communication infrastructure and encouraging the large-scale use of e-commerce.This paper aims to comprehensively investigate whether“Internet+”tactics play a key role in poverty alleviation in Sichuan’s rural ethnic minority areas and to propose further measures to enhance the efficiency of e-commerce practice.To this end,we conduct an analysis using the framework of classic growth theory and use panel data from 2000 to 2018 to examine the relationship between Communication Infrastructure Investment(CII)and a set of poverty-alleviation indicators,including local GDP growth rate(LGGR),local government revenue(LGR),and per-capita income of residents(PCIR).The results indicate that strengthening CII improves the PCIR and local economic growth,playing a key role in poverty alleviation.However,the stimulation of CII on LGGR and LGR wanes as time passes.More financial and technical actions will be needed to improve the efficiency and quality of current strategies for sustainable development in those areas.