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Poverty alleviation through relocation (PAR) is a milestone project in winning the battle against extreme poverty. Its aim is to relocate poor people from inhospitable areas and lift them out of poverty. Assessing the vulnerability to multidimensional poverty (VMP) of relocated households is of great significance for consolidating the achievements of targeted poverty alleviation and preventing a large-scale return to poverty. This study constructed a multidimensional poverty index (MPI) of relocated households and analyzed relocated households' VMP and its influencing factors using panel data of 1009 households in 16 counties across eight provinces in China. The results reveal that the mean VMP of the relocated households gradually decreased from 2016 to 2020. Moreover, the VMP of the relocated households that have moved into centralized resettlement communities is relatively low compared to those that have moved into decentralized resettlement communities. In addition, the impact of household endowment on VMP is the highest, followed by supporting policies, such as PAR, industrial development, and employment policy. Therefore, the assistance mechanism must be improved to prevent a return to poverty, enhance the sustainable development capacity of relocated households, and optimize follow-up policies for PAR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eliminating poverty is a shared aspiration of people worldwide. This article analyzes 762 rural poverty-related texts promulgated and implemented by the Chinese Government since 1984 using content analysis based on a three-dimensional framework encompassing the time of policy issuance, policy goals, and types of policy instruments. The study outlines the overall landscape and evolutionary context of the policy system. The results show that, during absolute poverty governance, China's rural poverty governance can be broadly divided into three stages: regional development-oriented poverty alleviation, comprehensive poverty alleviation, and targeted poverty alleviation. Based on the production-oriented welfare model, economic development became the primary goal of poverty alleviation policies, while insufficient attention was given to service support and capacity-building goals. The alleviation of poverty mainly relied on the propulsive force generated by supply-side policy instruments led by the Government and the external driving force generated by environmental policy instruments, with a significant deficiency in the propulsive force produced by demand-side policy instruments. Entering the phase of relative poverty governance, optimizing poverty governance policy instruments requires breaking free from path dependence, following the evolutionary pattern of poverty governance. It involves ensuring that policy instruments support economic development while emphasizing addressing service support and capacity-building goals. It is crucial to increase the frequency of using demand-side policy instruments, stimulate their pulling force on poverty alleviation, and achieve a trend of evolutionary innovation and the collaborative governance of policy instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, tourism development is a crucial approach to poverty alleviation. With the consolidation of poverty alleviation achievements and the promotion of rural revitalization, it is of great significance to explore the relationship between tourism development and poverty alleviation from the perspective of multidimensional poverty. Therefore, this study took 28 key assistance counties for rural revitalization in the Sichuan–Chongqing region (hereinafter referred to as "key counties") as the research objects, introduced NPP-VIIRS nighttime light (NTL) data, and a coupling coordination degree (CCD) model to explore the coordination relationship and mechanism between them. The results showed that from 2015 to 2020, the tourism development index (TDI) and estimated comprehensive development index (ECDI) of the key counties increased by 112.57% and 115.12%, respectively. In addition, the spatial differences in tourism development and multidimensional poverty both showed a narrowing trend. According to the results of the CCD model, the key counties basically faced coordination obstacles in the early stage, which were mainly transformed into reluctant coordination and moderate coordination in the later stage. This indicated that tourism poverty alleviation showed a coordinated development trend overall. However, the study also found that there may not be synchronicity between tourism development and poverty alleviation and analyzed the mechanism of their interaction. Overall, the study confirmed the positive impact of tourism development on alleviating multidimensional poverty. In addition, the study found that measuring multidimensional poverty based on NTL data has a high accuracy and can provide support for poverty research. These research results have an important reference value for China to carry out sustainable tourism poverty alleviation and comprehensively promote rural revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eliminating energy poverty is not only a prerequisite for escaping the "energy poverty trap" but also crucial to enhancing the welfare of residents and realising ecological civilization. Income inequality has become an essential challenge affecting China's economic growth and social stability. By integrating Chinese household data for 2016, 2018, and 2020, a mixed-method approach of energy income response modeling, income inequality measurement modeling, and fixed panel modeling is used in this paper to explore the relationship between income inequality and household energy poverty. Further, the mechanism of income inequality on energy poverty and the poverty reduction effect of household income on energy poverty are explored. The results show that income inequality is significantly and positively correlated with household energy poverty, implying that widening income inequality leads to energy "poverty enhancement." In terms of mechanisms, income inequality increases energy poverty by increasing households' willingness to save and reducing energy consumption. The moderating effect analysis shows that the breadth of digital financial inclusion reduces the contribution of income inequality to household energy poverty. The increase in household income will increase the affordability of households, especially the increase in wage income and property income, which can help households lift themselves out of "energy poverty." Therefore, creating sustainable digital ecosystems, incorporating sound government interventions, and providing diversified income channels are key to helping households escape energy poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-carbon transition stands as a vital strategy for the global community to address the challenge of climate change, inevitably affecting residents' daily lives. However, there is a notable gap in the quantitative analysis of the low-carbon transition's impact on energy poverty in developing countries, limiting policymakers' understanding of the inherent mechanism and their ability to take informed actions. This study investigates the low-carbon city pilot (LCCP) policy, China's key low-carbon initiative, as a quasi-natural experiment, using the difference-in-differences (DID) method to examine its impact on residents' energy poverty conditions. Utilizing panel data from 4807 households in the CHARLS dataset, this study effectively integrated household-level and city-level data. Benchmark regression indicates that the LCCP policy exacerbates energy poverty among residents. Further analysis reveals the pivotal role of energy infrastructure and expenditure in bridging the nexus between the LCCP policy and energy poverty, providing crucial insights into the potential pathways through which this policy impacts energy poverty. Additionally, heterogeneity analysis indicates that the impacts of LCCP policy are more pronounced in eastern cities, non-resource cities, and high administrative-level cities, as well as in the communities suffering from subpar governance quality. By leveraging reliable survey data and robust quantitative methods, this study not only broadens the methodology of energy poverty studies but also offers valuable insights for developing countries to safeguard residents' energy welfare amid low-carbon transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transfer payments play a crucial role in combating poverty in countries. However, the effectiveness of transfer payments in alleviating poverty remains controversial due to variations in environmental factors, economic development, and cultural contexts across different nations. In this study, we employ counterfactual causal inference to examine the influence of government transfer payments on poverty. By utilizing data from China, we present new evidence that sheds light on related issues. Our findings reveal that transfer payments have a negative impact on the overall income of rural poor households. This can be attributed to a decrease in labor supply among rural poor residents who receive such payments, resulting in reduced wage income. Additionally, transfer payments lead to decreased expenditure on food and increased spending on healthcare. These changes in total income and consumption patterns indicate that China's current transfer payment policy has short-term efficacy by meeting the basic living security needs of rural poor residents and improving their health conditions. However, the lack of significant changes in education spending suggests that transfer payments have little long-term effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ending poverty in all its forms is the first of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Therefore, it is of great significance to study poverty in the context of sustainable development. After eradicating absolute poverty, constructing a long-term mechanism to solve relative poverty is an inevitable requirement for achieving common prosperity in China. Therefore, it is extremely important that relative poverty is accurately identified and quantitatively decomposed. This paper adjusts the Foster–Greer–Thorbecke poverty index to propose a new methodology for relative poverty decomposition comprising growth, dispersion, heterogeneity, and identification effect. Based on China Family Panel Studies data from 2014 to 2018, the empirical analysis reveals the contributions to relative poverty made by growth, dispersion, heterogeneity, and identification effects. Specifically, the growth effect reduces the incidence of relative poverty; dispersion effect worsens relative poverty by affecting the depth of poverty; the heterogeneity effect depends on the heterogeneous characteristics of the population; the identification effect aggregates relative poverty by acting mainly on poverty incidence. We also compare the four relative poverty effects in urban versus rural areas. The findings show that dispersion effect and heterogeneity effect are keys to the differences. In particular, dispersion effect differences arise from income disparities, while heterogeneity effect differences depend on heterogeneous characteristics such as education, health insurance, and migrant work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After eradicating absolute poverty under the current rural poverty standard (living standard of 2300 RMB per person per year at 2010 constant prices) in 2020, China will enter the post-poverty era, in which the focus of anti-poverty in China will shift to narrowing the gap and pursuing fairness and shared prosperity in relative poverty. Identifying and measuring the scale of the relative poverty group is an essential prerequisite for effective relative poverty management. Based on the reality of China's extensive territory and unbalanced and uncoordinated regional development, this article calculates the relative poverty and the scale of the poor population in each province separately from the provincial perspective and analyzes their changing trends. It is revealed that the average relative poverty line of each province in China is slightly lower than the social poverty line of middle and high-income countries proposed by the World Bank and higher than the low- and middle-income countries, which is basically in line with the current stage of economic development in China. The average relative poverty incidence in each province is at around 25%, and the incidence of poverty generally shows a decreasing trend during the study period, while the depth and intensity of poverty in some provinces show a gradual increase over time, further confirming the enormity of relative poverty governance in the post-poverty era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avoidance of a return to poverty is a priority within postpoverty alleviation programmes in rural China. As traditional social networks, clan‐based networks have long played a pivotal role within rural society and governance. However, few studies have examined their influence on the return to poverty of rural families. Therefore, we used the China Family Panel Survey (CFPS) data from 2014 to explore how clan networks influence the risk of a return to poverty among rural households and its mechanisms. Our findings suggest that clan networks can reduce the risk of returning to poverty and that they have heterogeneous effects on families and regions with different characteristics. Their main function is to reduce the borrowing cost through an external support mechanism and to promote movements of the rural labour force to urban areas where they can earn higher nonagricultural stable incomes through an internal sharing mechanism. This study of the role of traditional clan‐based networks in poverty avoidance can contribute to their enhanced role in the new era, while also providing inputs for consolidating and expanding poverty alleviation, innovating existing follow‐up poverty alleviation guarantee mechanisms and promoting comprehensive rural revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the rapid decrease in poverty across the developing world, there have been few attempts to analyze the implication of poverty alleviation on regime legitimacy. Bridging the literature on poverty alleviation and political trust, this analysis examines the mechanisms through which poverty reduction affects trust in local elected and appointed officials. Using an original survey on the Target Poverty Alleviation campaign in China and causal mediation analyses, we find that beneficiary status is positively associated with political trust. The perception of anti-poverty governance quality, rather than economic evaluation, is the mediator through which beneficiary status affects political trust. Moreover, the intensified non-formalistic elite-mass linkage developed in the poverty alleviation campaign enhances political trust through the improvement of perception of governance quality. These findings have implications for mechanisms through which poverty reduction affects political trust and the type of political linkage that sustains regime legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the stratified poverty theory, poverty includes individual (people) and regional (place) poverty. Understanding the interaction mechanism between individual poverty and regional poverty is crucial to achieving the UN goal of poverty eradication by 2030. However, at present, the relevant empirical research is still limited by the availability of data. To fill this important gap, based on the multi-source data of poverty census, geo-environmental and socio-economic data of China's 1587 counties in 2013, we used exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) and spatial econometric models (spatial-lag and spatial-error model) to identify determinants of individual poverty and regional poverty in this county. Results show that the spatial distribution of the rural poor in China had strong spatial dependence (Global Moran's I = 0.574). There was a high degree of spatial overlap between individual poverty and regional poverty. The poverty-causing factors were complex and varied across regions and individuals. Disease of family members was the leading factor driving rural areas in Northeast, Central, and Southwest China. Northeast China was mainly affected by the illness and lack of labor skills of family members. The complex terrain conditions were the determinants driving rural poverty in most areas of China. Improved transportation can greatly reduce rural poverty. Geographical isolation or lack of geographical capital caused by complex terrain conditions, backward transportation, and regional closure promoted regional poverty. In turn, regional poverty-causing factors further restricted the improvement of rural residents' self-development ability and aggravated individual poverty. Our findings indicate that individual poverty and regional poverty have different poverty-causing mechanisms and poverty reduction priorities. Effective poverty reduction strategies require the coordinated promotion of individual and regional poverty reduction. The reduction of individual poverty should focus on enhancing the livelihood capital of the poor through differentiated policy intervention, while regional poverty alleviation should focus on creating a favorable development environment by increasing infrastructure investment and public service supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is a primary obstacle to achieving sustainable development. Therefore, exploring the spatiotemporal dynamics and causes of poverty is of great significance to the sustainable poverty reduction of the "post poverty alleviation era" in China. This paper used the multisource big data of 2022 counties in China from 2000 to 2015 to establish a comprehensive evaluation framework to explore the multidimensional poverty situation in China. The results showed the following findings: There is an obvious spatiotemporal heterogeneity of multidimensional poverty, showing a typical stair-like gradient from high in the west to low in the east, with the poverty level in state-designated poverty counties higher and intensifying over time. The spatial differentiation of multidimensional poverty is contributed to by multiple factors, in which the geographical condition has a stronger impact on state-designated poverty counties, while natural endowment and human resources have a stronger effect on non-state-designated poverty counties. These things considered, the regional poverty causes were relatively stable before 2015, but the poverty spatial agglomeration of some regions in the Northwest, Northeast, and Yangtze River Economic Belt has undergone significant changes after 2015. These findings can help policymakers better target plans to eliminate various types of poverty in different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is a common problem faced by all countries. Breaking the restrictions on urban–rural development imposed by the dual urban–rural system, China has greatly succeeded in eradicating absolute poverty, which has important reference significance for other developing countries to reduce poverty. However, few studies have systematically and empirically tested the heterogeneous impact of urban–rural integration (URI) on urban and rural poverty reduction. Using China's provincial panel data and the spatial econometric model, this study explores the relationship between URI and poverty reduction and tests its spatial spillover effects. The results show that URI and rural poverty present an inverted U-shaped relationship, which first aggravates and subsequently alleviates rural poverty. That has spatial overflow. For urban poverty, URI first reduces and then increases urban poverty in the province. In contrast, URI and urban poverty have an inverted U-shaped relationship in the surrounding province. By calculating the inflection point value, this study finds that when the URI level is between 0.300 and 0.480, URI can contribute to urban and rural poverty reduction in the local and surrounding areas. In the future, the government should dynamically monitor changes in urban and rural poverty while improving the development of URI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main contradictions in Chinese society have changed as China enters a new era, and the people's pursuit of the better life has become more intense. This study explores how energy poverty can be addressed from a digital perspective in the context of the booming digital economy. This study analyzed the impact of mobile phone use on energy poverty by constructing an OLS model using micro data from Tibetan farming and pastoral areas. We also conduct tests for endogeneity, robustness, heterogeneity, and influence mechanisms. The results indicate that mobile phone use has a significant negative impact on energy poverty, and the results remain robust after instrumental-variable regression. In terms of economic utility, mobile phone use reduces energy poverty by increasing household consumption or off-farm income. In terms of social utility, mobile phone use can also alleviate energy poverty by raising social capital. Heterogeneity analysis shows that mobile phone use contributes to energy poverty alleviation in a way that benefits the poor and the less educated. The authors investigate the impact of mobile phone use on Energy Poverty, a topic that has previously been little addressed in academia. The findings of this paper enrich the literature on the digital technology and energy poverty and provide a new perspective for alleviating energy poverty in rural areas and improving farmers' well-being. Finally, this paper offers some policy recommendations. • The use of mobile phones by farmers and herdsmen can alleviate energy poverty. • mobile phone use contributes to energy poverty alleviation in ways that benefit the poor and the less educated. • The social and economic utility brought by the use of mobile phones can help farmers and herdsmen alleviate energy poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops a conceptual framework of multidimensional energy poverty by using a multidimensional poverty index that considers energy accessibility, affordability, and service availability. The index is then utilized to evaluate the extent, depth, and intensity of multidimensional energy poverty (MEP) in China. Specifically, this study aims to identify factors that contribute to the urban-rural and regional MEP disparities in China. The results reveal that (1) MEP is widespread in China; (2) Rural areas experience 2.5 times more MEP compared to urban areas, while inland regions have 1.5 times higher MEP rates than coastal regions; and (3) these disparities are primarily caused by low-income levels, lack of non-agricultural employment opportunities, and educational attainment. Therefore, policies targeting low-income, unemployed, and less-educated individuals are necessary to address this issue. In addition, promoting urbanization and eliminating the household registration system are crucial steps to address MEP disparities in China. Furthermore, improving energy infrastructure and increasing knowledge dissemination can also help reduce reliance on traditional energy sources. • Designed multifaceted poverty index mattering energy access, affordability, service. • Energy Poverty gaps stem from income shortage, non-agricultural jobs, education gaps. • Rural (inland) MEP is 2.5 (1.5) times higher than that in urban (coastal) areas. • The study offers crucial policy insights for alleviating energy poverty in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the key projects of the top ten targeted poverty alleviation projects, Photovoltaic Poverty Alleviation Projects (PPAP) has played an important role in poverty alleviation and eliminating absolute poverty. This paper analyzes the impact of the PPAP on the consumption and poverty vulnerability of impoverished households and reveals the characteristics of the targetedness, effectiveness and sustainability of PPAP based on the data of the previous poverty-stricken households recorded in four townships in Wuwei County, Wuhu City, Anhui Province, China. The results show that under the extreme poverty standard line, PPAP can significantly reduce the poverty vulnerability of impoverished households, and the effect of the PV poverty alleviation project has a strong sustainability; It has a significant heterogeneous impact on families of different poverty types, among which, it plays a significant role in alleviating the poverty vulnerability of impoverished households due to the loss of labor ability, and low-income families, with strong targetedness; For families with a high degree of vulnerability to poverty, the PPAP can significantly alleviate their vulnerability, indicating the effectiveness of PPAP to play a bottom-up role for the poor families. • Effect of China's Photovoltaic Poverty Alleviation Policy. • The targetedness, effectiveness, and sustainability of poverty reduction effects. • Micro-level statistical data obtained from on-site surveys on impoverished households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eliminating poverty is the primary goal of sustainable development. China has eliminated absolute poverty in 2020, yet there is a chance that it could happen again. The poor population is mostly concentrated in ecologically fragile areas. We need to take more inclusive and effective initiatives to prevent the population in ecologically fragile areas from returning to poverty. In this study, a decision tree and logistic regression model were used to assess the risk of returning to poverty in Karst ecologically fragile areas. The data comes from 303 households in four counties in Guizhou and Guangxi. There are 12 main influencing factors identified, with the percentage of workforce numbers and loans having interactive effects. The results show that: (1) Poor resilience of livelihood assets, external shocks, and the effects of some support measures will be visible after a long period, leading to "transient" poverty and return to poverty. (2) Ecological environment management in ecologically fragile areas is very important to solve the problem of returning to poverty. (3) Appropriate loans can reduce poverty, especially when loans are used to cultivate a new excellent labor force. At the same time, it is necessary to evaluate farmers' repayment ability reasonably and scientifically to reduce the risk of returning to poverty. The combination of ecological restoration and agricultural development is the key to solving ecological and social problems in Karst areas. Efforts should be made to improve the risk-resilience of farmers' livelihood assets and the efficiency of livelihood assets utilization by implementing targeted support measures. This research provides a new approach to studying the mechanism of poverty recurrence, which is of great practical significance for consolidating the results of poverty eradication and realizing rural vitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a concerning problem in many parts of the world, especially in rural and poor areas. Due to health service inequality and public stigma towards the disease, it is difficult to conduct face-to-face interventions. The widespread use of mobile phones and social media applications thus provide a feasible and acceptable approach for HIV prevention and education delivery in this population. The study aims to develop a generalizable, effective, acceptable, and convenient mobile-based information intervention model to improve HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, practices, and health outcomes in poverty-stricken areas in China and measure the impact of incentive policies on the work of village doctors in Liangshan, China.Methods: A randomized controlled trial design is used to evaluate the effectiveness of an 18-month mobile-based HIV prevention intervention, collaborating with local village doctors and consisting of group-based knowledge dissemination and individualized communication on WeChat and the Chinese Version of TikTok in Liangshan, China. Each village is defined as a cluster managed by a village doctor with 20 adults possessing mobile phones randomly selected from different families as participants, totaling 200 villages. Clusters are randomized (1:1:1) to the Control without mobile-based knowledge dissemination, Intervention A with standardized compensation to the village doctors, or Intervention B with performance-based compensation to the village doctors. The intervention groups will receive biweekly messages containing HIV-related educational modules. Data will be collected at baseline and 6-, 12-, and 18-month periods for outcome measurements. The primary outcomes of the study are HIV-related knowledge improvement and the effectiveness of village doctor targeted incentive policies. The secondary outcomes include secondary knowledge transmission, behavioral changes, health outcomes, social factors, and study design's acceptability and reproducibility. These outcomes will be explored via various qualitative and quantitative means.Discussion: The findings will provide insights into the effectiveness, generalizability, and challenges of the mobile-based HIV prevention intervention for the population living in rural communities with low education levels and will guide the development of similar models in other low-income and culturally isolated regions.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrial.gov: NCT05015062 ; Registered on June 6, 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selecting the appropriate targeted poverty alleviation policies and exploring the implementation path of refined poverty alleviation policies are important to provide support for achieving a comprehensive poverty alleviation for China in 2020. Two models, namely, land resources-environmental carrying capacity (LRECC) index and the coupling coordination degree (CCD), were established to quantitatively explore the important effects of differences in the LRECC in the production, living and ecological spaces on poverty, and determine the important role of superior carrying space in poverty alleviation. Additionally, this study explored the relationship between the poverty incidence and the LRECC by using of the coefficient of geographical association (CGA) to perform the priority and the optimal selection of targeted poverty alleviation policies from the production, living, and ecological spaces. Results showed that the comprehensive CGAs of Long Zhouping township, Huo Shaoping township and other townships were high; therefore, the priority of targeted poverty alleviation was high. By contrast, the comprehensive CGAs of Ya Zikou township, Du Zhenwan township, and other townships were low; thus, the priority of targeted poverty alleviation was low. Long Zhouping and Dayan townships should select the production aspect of targeted poverty alleviation policies, whereas Du Zhenwan and Ya Zikou townships and Gao Jiayan and Moshi townships should select the living and ecological aspects, respectively. Selecting the appropriate targeted poverty alleviation policies by quantitatively identifying the advantages of regional land resource endowment and the poverty incidence will help take the poor out of poverty, and do not become poor again, thereby achieving regional sustainable development. • Explaining the relationship between the natural resource endowment in different evaluation units and rural deep poverty. • Quantitative analysis of the relationship between the LRECC and poverty incidence was established by the CGA model. • Selecting the appropriate targeted poverty alleviation policies will help the poor out of poverty, and do not become poor again. • Exploring the selection and implementation path of targeted poverty alleviation policies from microcosmic scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty reduction is a common challenge facing the whole world. China has taken a series of anti-poverty measures and great achievements have been made. However, the question of how to lift and keep rural households above poverty line remains a worthy subject of academic attention. Building on surveyed results in Lankao County in Henan province of China, this study proposes a theoretical framework for explaining the paths to achieving the livelihood resilience of rural households after shaking off poverty. We analyze the generative mechanisms of livelihood resilience of rural households. Results show that the livelihood resilience of the households who have shaken off poverty is closely related to their capacity to utilize accessible resources, learn new knowledge and exploit external resources. Households having modern agricultural productive systems or living in specialized villages have a relatively high level of resilience than those do not. Three types of capacities are identified as the Triggers, Pushers and Optimizers , respectively, acting on the generative process of livelihood resilience for households. They interact among one another to promote households' livelihood resilience. Finally, we propose that China should take additional measures to enhance rural households' livelihood resilience to facilitate a sustainable development. More importantly, such experience is of great value for improving livelihood resilience of rural households in China and other developing countries. • We propose a theoretical framework to check the livelihood resilience and generative mechanism of households out of poverty. • The livelihood resilience of the households who have shaken off poverty is closely related to their three types of capacity. • Households involving modern agricultural productive systems have a relatively high level of resilience than those do not. • Three types of capacity interact among one another to promote households' livelihood resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers how the Chinese government's strategy of relational poverty governance has permitted its gaining control over parts of the country where its authority was fragile. President Xi Jinping's interest in targeted poverty alleviation has led success of this strategy to become a major concern of local governments. Based on fieldwork undertaken in China during the period 2016–2020, the article shows that state-managed political mobilization and rigid bureaucratic governance strategies are not the only means through which political power is exercised; relational poverty governance is another basis of the exercise of state power in rural communities. Mechanisms whereby three levels of state power—symbolic, bureaucratic, and moral—are executed in relational governance are identified. Through practical operations that include emotional interactions, paired assistance systems, and moral supervision, the state regains control in remote areas and strives to achieve successful governance. The article concludes by discussing the policy effectiveness of relational poverty governance and its implications for rural governance in contemporary China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessibility plays an important role in alleviating rural poverty. Previous studies have explored the relationship between accessibility and rural poverty, but they offer limited evidence of the collective influence of multiscale transport accessibility (town-level, county-level, and prefecture-level accessibility) and its nonlinear effects on rural poverty. This study adopted the gradient-boosting decision tree model to explore the nonlinear association and threshold effects of multiscale transport accessibility on the rural poverty incidence (RPI). We selected Huining, a poverty-stricken county in China, as a case study. The results show that multiscale transport accessibility collectively has larger predictive power than other variables. Specifically, town-level accessibility (12.97%) plays a dominant role in predicting the RPI, followed by county-level accessibility (9.50%) and prefecture-level accessibility (7.38%). We further identified the nonlinear association and effective ranges of multiscale transport accessibility to guide poverty-alleviation policy. Our results help inform policy and planning on sustainable poverty reduction and rural vitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the long-term health consequences of early-life chronic poverty—as proxied by enduring starvation experiences—for residents aged 45–90 in rural China. Chronic poverty poses a common threat to rural households' well-being in the developing world. However, our knowledge remains limited about whether and how it shapes later-life health disparities. This study focuses on such later-life outcomes as self-rated health and depression. We conduct multiple regression analysis and instrumental variable analysis that utilizes exogenous variation in respondents' childhood disaster experiences and local geographic condition as an instrument for self-reported starvation experiences. We find persistent disadvantages in the later-life self-rated health and depression of rural Chinese who experienced early-life chronic poverty. Suggestively, the lasting health impact of early-life chronic poverty may be elevated by current social disadvantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy poverty is the inability to meet necessary household energy needs and has threatened human well-being and exacerbated climate change. However, there has been a lack of systematic analysis regarding the driving factors of energy poverty and their interaction mechanisms, which is crucial for achieving effective energy poverty reduction. This paper proposes a novel integrated technique composed of the Backpropagation Neural Network (BPNN) and Weighted Influence Non-linear Gauge System (WINGS) method to identify the most important driving factors of energy poverty and understand their interaction mechanism by using household-level survey data in China from 2016, 2018, and 2020. The findings reveal that per capita household income is the most important cause-driving factor. Household heads' education attainment and policy support, such as government subsidy and housing provident fund, are also significant causes of energy poverty. Factors, such as household central heating system usage and house ownership, are in the downstream of the interaction mechanism chain to be considered as the effect-driving factors. Finally, a robustness test is conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method and the obtained findings, which could assist energy-related decision-makers with the most significant drivers for reducing energy poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty reduction has increasingly become a core subject for researchers across the social sciences from economics to finance, management, and entrepreneurship. This study goes beyond existing management and entrepreneurship literature that has devoted significant efforts to exploring market-based ways for economic development, but has neglected poor people in rural areas excluded from participating in and accessing markets. In this study, the sharing economy is proposed as an effective way to resolve and reduce the poverty problem. We show how to overcome institutional voids by facilitating two fundamental mechanisms (i.e., building new markets, cultivating new participants) that bring together entrepreneurship, local peasants, and governments in building inclusive markets. We reveal omitted elements, such as geographic and temporal differences in market development across regions and times, as the key source of institutional voids in emerging markets. The analyses are conducted using data from multiple sources ranging from participant observation, retrieval of archival documents, and in-depth interviews covering 335 counties of 16,500 villages involved with Taobao in 2007–2017 in China. The findings shed insight on the studies on institutional voids, entrepreneurship, and the sharing economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper measures intertemporal multidimensional poverty in rural China from 1988 to 2018 based on the China Household Income Project (CHIP) data and for that time period has the following findings. First, multidimensional poverty in rural China declines steadily when measured through the income poverty approach. Second, multidimensional poverty in rural areas presents demographic and regional heterogeneity, among which elderly poverty, child poverty, and poverty in the western Chinese region are the most prominent ones. Third, income poverty and multidimensional poverty have a low overlap ratio and show intertemporal synchronisation over time. Although increases in income can alleviate multidimensional poverty, this effect is very limited. This paper suggests that a suitable multidimensional poverty identification framework should be developed in the era of poverty alleviation after 2020 and that in the new poverty alleviation governance system of China, targeted development strategies should be formulated with an increased focus on the poverty of special groups such as children and the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: China completed the task of eliminating absolute poverty, following the 18th National Congress. However, after 2020, rural poverty in China has entered a new stage that is characterised by transformational secondary poverty and relative poverty; thus, the poverty vulnerable group is the new target group. Public transfer payments play a vital role in reducing the vulnerability of rural households to healthcare poverty. Assessing the effectiveness of public transfer payments in rural households can improve the vulnerability of rural households to healthcare poverty.Methods: In total, 5754 rural households were included each year, which accounted for a total of 16,722 rural households during the three-year study period. The multidimensional poverty and the vulnerability to healthcare poverty of rural households were assessed and compared. Two series of multivariate logistic regression models were further used to assess the effects of public transfer payments on improving the vulnerability of rural households to healthcare poverty.Results: When the poverty line was set at $1.90 and $3.20, rural households in all the three study years exhibited a higher vulnerability to healthcare poverty than the actual incidence of multidimensional poverty in healthcare, and the Eastern regions exhibited higher vulnerability to poverty than the Western regions of China. The series of multivariate logistic models employed to evaluate the effects of public transfer payments on the rural households' vulnerability to healthcare poverty indicated that considering the differences in rural households' demands for healthcare is vital for the government to fulfill the effects of public transfer payments. When income elasticity indicators for health care needs were included, the effect of public transfer payments on improving the vulnerability of rural households changed from less significant in 2014 and 2016. In 2018, however, the effect of public transfers on improving the vulnerability of rural households has increased compared to the non-inclusion elasticity.Conclusions: The imbalance of development between urban and rural areas in China is increasing, and rural households with heavy economic burdens are facing the risk of low healthcare services. Our findings highlight the importance of government departments in improving public transfer payments to reduce rural households' vulnerability to healthcare poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Digital finance has the transformative power to realise financial inclusion. However, evidence on the relationship between digital finance and poverty reduction remains limited. This study examines the mitigating effects of digital financial inclusion (DFI) on vulnerability to poverty in rural China, explores potential mechanisms at the micro-level, and investigates the external conditions for DFI to validate these effects. Design/methodology/approach: Rural household data from the China Labour Force Dynamics Survey and the regional DFI index compiled by Peking University are used. The probit and mediation effect models are employed to assess the impacts of the DFI on vulnerability to poverty and explore its mechanisms, with an appropriate instrumental variable to mitigate potential endogeneity. Findings: DFI can mitigate vulnerability to poverty in Chinese rural households. Specifically, both sub-indices – coverage breadth and depth of use – have a significant effect. Further analyses based on the mediation model show that improving agricultural productivity, stimulating entrepreneurial activities and promoting non-agricultural employment are the core mechanisms for alleviating poverty vulnerability. Heterogeneity analysis shows that DFI is pro-poor and benefits those who lack economic opportunities. Moreover, adequate endowment in rural households, such as production and human capital, is an external condition for digital finance to mitigate vulnerability to poverty. Originality/value: This study is among the first to examine the vulnerability-mitigation effects from the perspective of digital finance development, relying on data from a large-scale, nationwide household survey and the regional DFI index. It also checks for the mechanisms and heterogeneity of the effects, which prove the effects can help balance efficiency and equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is widely recognized as a multifaceted concept and has been extensively studied. However, less research has been conducted to explore multidimensional poverty in China. This article aims to investigate the measurements and determinants of multidimensional poverty in mountainous areas of Southeast China. The Alkire–Foster method and a logistic regression modeling technique are applied to examine multidimensional poverty and its determinants, respectively. Four dimensions (income, education, health, and living standards) and eight indicators are considered for the measurements of multidimensional poverty. By interviewing 198 rural households in Shouning County, Fujian Province of China, the article reveals about sixty percent of the sample households are found to experience multidimensional poverty, which is remarkably higher than previous studies. Deprivation in four dimensions is not homogeneous. The incidence of deprivation in education and health dimension are remarkably higher than dimensions of income and living standards. Results also reveal that health (34.27%) and education (27.45%) are the two most important contributors of multidimensional poverty, which jointly account for 61.72% of overall poverty. Living standards (23.25%) and income (15.03%) are the other two important contributors of multidimensional poverty. The important determinants of multidimensional poverty are the number of chronic patients, dependency ratio, elevation, and information accessibility. The results confirm that chronic disease or disability is the key determinant of poverty in rural areas of China. The study suggests that policy focus of poverty alleviation should be changed from income growth to health and education improvement. The provision and accessibility of health care services in rural areas need to be emphasized. Future research should focus on the heterogeneity of multidimensional poverty in China to expound the spatial difference and household difference in multidimensional poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies of claims‐making on authoritarian states have focused on how the aggrieved use episodic protests to challenge the state's authority or adopt alternative group strategies to circumvent repression. Few studies have thus far applied these insights regarding groups' innovative strategies and their interactions with the state apparatuses to explore individuals' claims‐making at the microlevel. Based on 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork in southwest China, this study analyzes how rural ethnic minority Qiang women actively engage various levels of government officials to demand enhanced social provisions. These women play off stereotypical gender assumptions about them to appear as nonthreatening subjects who accommodate state priorities for poverty alleviation and social stability. They also engage state officials and exploit (not always successfully) the government's official rhetoric and internal divisions to secure much‐needed social provisions. I call this type of gendered individual claims‐making "rightful bargaining." Yet, paradoxically, the study also reveals that, because the state's legitimacy is founded precisely on economic growth and the appearance of popular consent, the incremental material gains these women achieve inadvertently reinforce the authoritarian regime's overall legitimacy, domination, and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies of claims‐making on authoritarian states have focused on how the aggrieved use episodic protests to challenge the state's authority or adopt alternative group strategies to circumvent repression. Few studies have thus far applied these insights regarding groups' innovative strategies and their interactions with the state apparatuses to explore individuals' claims‐making at the microlevel. Based on 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork in southwest China, this study analyzes how rural ethnic minority Qiang women actively engage various levels of government officials to demand enhanced social provisions. These women play off stereotypical gender assumptions about them to appear as nonthreatening subjects who accommodate state priorities for poverty alleviation and social stability. They also engage state officials and exploit (not always successfully) the government's official rhetoric and internal divisions to secure much‐needed social provisions. I call this type of gendered individual claims‐making "rightful bargaining." Yet, paradoxically, the study also reveals that, because the state's legitimacy is founded precisely on economic growth and the appearance of popular consent, the incremental material gains these women achieve inadvertently reinforce the authoritarian regime's overall legitimacy, domination, and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socio-economic development in China is not balanced. After the absolute poverty (in accordance with the current criteria) has been eliminated, helping the poor and alleviating poverty has always been the pressing assignment. Bamboo is an important forest resource, widely distributed in China and many other countries. It not only provides raw materials for economic development, but also provides kinds of nutritious foods. Moreover, bamboo is widely used in the construction industry, in transportation, agriculture, fisheries, paper-making, and in household products. Thus, developing bamboo industry is helpful to alleviate rural poverty in mountainous regions and to push up local socio-economic progress. Based on field survey, actual social investigation and literature review, by aid of SWOT and PEST(EL) analysis, this article concludes several bamboo industries practiced in the country that help to increase farmers' incomes and promote economic development. Generally, bamboo industry can be divided into five catalogs: food, manufacturing industry, eco-tourism, energy and construction. Besides, eco-efficiency, carbon footprint and water footprint also discussed during its development process. Furthermore, the application prospects of bamboo and actual examples to create benefits are analyzed. It is expected that this paper could provide practicable experience and available pathway to improve economy and combat poverty for impoverished areas in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of livelihood transitions is conducive to poverty reduction and rural development. This study used three-wave panel data to quantitatively examine the livelihood transitions of Chinese rural households during two 2-year periods. The households were categorized into 5 livelihood strategy clusters depending on their income composition. The distribution of households among livelihood strategies exhibits a gourd-shaped structure and presents 2 trends, namely, the transition from on-farm strategies to off-farm strategies and an increase in non-labour households. The most common transition happens between the wage-employment-oriented strategy and the farming-oriented strategy, and the half-farming-and-half-employment strategy has the strongest mobility. Continuously, households with primary livelihood activities tend to persistently employ a strategy as the time spent on that strategy increases. From the perspective of poverty reduction, it is vital to understand the transition directions of farming-dependent households, and it is essential to promote slow but stable upward mobility. Farmland area and investment in farming have a negative effect on upward mobility, indicating the need for a more efficient agriculture operation mode, such as agriculture industrialization. The effect of labour migration is double-edged, and promoting the employment of members who have been left behind is crucial. In addition, the positive effects of network usage and education level of labors highlight the importance of improving the infrastructure and providing skill training in rural China. By analysing the livelihood distributions and transitions of rural households, comparing the disparities of the livelihood distributions and transitions of poor and non-poor households, and investigating the determinants of livelihood transitions, this paper aims to highlight the implications of these issues for poverty reduction in rural China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the effects of universal basic education on the vulnerability to poverty in rural China while exploring this mechanism from a capability perspective. A regression-discontinuity design based on the implementation of compulsory education is used to identify the effects with household data. We find that compulsory education has significantly reduced the vulnerability to poverty by popularizing basic education in rural China. Regarding the mechanism itself, vulnerability to structural poverty is the primary source of vulnerability in rural China. Universal basic education's effect on reducing vulnerability to structural poverty is larger than that on reducing vulnerability to transitory poverty. Further analysis reveals that compulsory education primarily enhances various capabilities to obtain permanent income—such as cognitive abilities, health and the engagement in non-agricultural jobs—which are important pathways to reducing vulnerability to structural poverty. Our findings suggest that universal basic education has a fundamental effect on reducing vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a monitoring on the reduction of multidimensional poverty in rural China from 2010 to 2016. The results indicate that significant overall alleviation is observed in the rural China. After decomposing poverty reduction through Shapley method, dimensional and regional breakdown, this paper captures the factors contributing to the overall alleviation of multidimensional poverty in rural China: the decrease of poverty incidence, rather than the reduction of poverty intensity; the improvement in the dimensions of education and living standards; and the obvious alleviation of poverty in Western China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China’s poverty alleviation has made great progress, as the years of large-scale development-oriented poverty relief drive since the mid-1980s. At present, the poverty in rural China has transformed into the geo-relation poverty, restrained by individual ability of peasant household, special geographic environment, and resource factors, from the surface poverty that formed by the backward economic development, and deficiency of manage agencies. The lack of resource element has become a major obstacle to poverty governance, especially on the most important livelihood capital of farmers - cultivated land resources. High quantity, quality, and utilization efficiency in cultivated land resources can contribute to poverty alleviation and increasing income of farmers. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the inner relationship between cultivated land pressure and rural poverty in the perspective of cultivated land resources. Taking 109 villages in Zhenyuan County of Yunnan Province as the research unit, this study aims to find the linkages between rural poverty and spatial patterns of cultivated land pressure in mountain area. The weighted sum approach and coupling degree model were used based on the field survey data. The results show that: 1) The indexes of rural poverty and farmland pressure in village scale were both high in Zhenyuan County. The spatial distribution was characterized by “low in the middle, high in the East and West, and secondary high in the north and South” under the ArcGIS10.2 platform; 2) The coupling level of farmland pressure and rural poverty was high, where the coupling factor C reached 0.79. The spatial pattern was characterized by: the high coupling in whole region, the coupling gradually decreased from the central area to the East and West, showing the structural characteristics of “ridge”. It infers that there was high coupling in the central region, and low at both sides. The spatial correlation pattern of coupling level showed that the high-high agglomeration area was mainly distributed in Enle Town, whereas, the low-low agglomeration area was mainly distributed in Zhentai town; 3) The main coupling types of Zhenyuan County were classified by forced, mild and moderate coordination. The spatial distribution showed the characteristics of overall coordination and local imbalance. The spatial correlation pattern showed that the high-high agglomeration area was in Zhentai town, whereas, the low-low agglomeration area was in Enle town. In order to alleviate the pressure of cultivated land and rural poverty, the government can increase the investment in cultivated land resources, further to solve the problem of “two not worry and Three Guarantees” for the farmers. Targeted strategies can vary in different regions: 1) In the central region with high coupling level of “double low” type, land improvement can be recommended to increase cultivated land area and optimize allocation of resource, particularly on strengthening the use of cultivated land. 2) In the north and south areas with high coupling level of “double high” type, returning cultivated land to forest can be selected to reduce the pressure of economic development on cultivated land, while, maintain the ecological function. 3) In the eastern and western regions with the relatively low coupling level, the function of cultivated land resources can be used to develop the typical economic industries, mainly including livestock and poultry, tea, and under-forest economy, according to the characteristic resources of mountainous areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty rooted in the absence of capital, land resources, development rights, and human resources. Only by integrating the targeted poverty alleviation with the strategy implementation of rural revitalization, a long-term mechanism established to get rid of poverty in rural areas. At present, China is in the period of historical policy superposition, which wins the battle of poverty alleviation and implements the strategy of rural revitalization. This article deeply studies the path model and countermeasures of China's targeted poverty alleviation and rural revitalization. Firstly, it introduces the strategic background of targeted poverty alleviation and rural revitalization. Second, it presents the current research progress at home and abroad. It analyzes in detail the existing problems and cause analysis, and gives countermeasures and suggestions, such as: top-level design and overall framework, policy implementation, countermeasure suggestions, and optimization of assessment system. Guided by the goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way, targeted poverty alleviation will have a more solid, higher quality and more sustainable development in the rural revitalization strategy. At the same time, rural revitalization can also gain more development momentum from the significant results achieved in the early-targeted poverty alleviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is undergoing a campaign which is called "The Targeted Poverty Alleviation Policy" to eradicate extreme poverty from rural China until 2020. Though poverty in rural China has been studied intensively in different objective dimensions, little attention has been paid to poverty line settings and subjective poverty, which are hinged to the policy effects. In order to fill in the research gap, this study employs a nationally representative survey of rural households in 2016, to measure subjective poverty in rural China, and analyze the determinants as well. Our results indicate that the mean subjective poverty line of the rural households is 8297 yuan per capita, which is far higher than the national poverty line (2800 yuan). Statistically, 29% of the surveyed rural households who are not objectively poor feel subjectively poor. The objective poverty line cannot fully reflect the subjective poverty perception. Thus, how to reduce the subjective poverty perception could be a major policy agenda in rural China after 2020, when extreme poverty is no longer a problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization in China has led to an increasing imbalance in regional development. The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a less developed border province with unique cultural diversity, has a relatively large population (4.52 million people in 2015) under the poverty line, according to the national standard of poverty. China has launched a national campaign to reduce poverty using a wide range of new development policies and large-scale investment. However, there have been few studies on the determinants of poverty at the county level across a province. This paper aims to explore the spatial and social differences related to poverty among 109 counties by considering the spatial heterogeneity of poverty determinants. Spatial statistical models revealed that slope (Slp), GDP per capita (GDPP), the ethnic minority population ratio (EMPR), medical and technical personnel of healthcare institutions (MTP) and illiteracy rate (IR) significantly affect the patterns of the poverty rate, with a high adjusted R2 (0.67), while the poverty rate affects GDPP, IR, MTP and EMPR; i.e., the effects are interactional. Furthermore, the IR is significantly affected by the provision of schools and transportation conditions. Among these determinants, social factors may be key. The spatial patterns of these relationships demonstrate remarkable variation across the province and between minor and major groups. This quantitative evidence is enhanced by indepth interviews with selected groups. These results are expected to be useful for the anti-poverty project in Guangxi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is noted for remarkable reductions in rural poverty and aims to eliminate it by 2020. Achieving this outcome requires identification of the remaining poverty population and a strategy that effectively addresses the causes of their poverty. Drawing on a 2017 survey of 4626 rural households and 13,689 individuals in 628 counties, characteristics of rural China, of people identified as remaining poor and of poverty classifications, are examined, enabling an assessment of the general effectiveness of poverty targeting. Analysis of the causes of remaining rural poverty indicates the need for a combination of targeted development-oriented policy for poverty counties, villages and regions, and minimum life guarantees and public service measures for poverty households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy poverty is a global problem, particularly complex and severe in rural areas of developing countries. To address this issue, a theoretical framework is constructed based on the energy ladder theory and family altruism theory, to discuss the role of off-farm work in alleviating energy poverty for rural households. Using data from the Chinese Family Panel Studies, this study identifies the off-farm work patterns and multiple energy poverty index (MEPI) of different rural households, then analyzes the off-farm work and the distance of off-farm work on the MEPI of rural households by employing Oprobit model and conditional mixed process method and verifies the mediating effect of household income. The results show that local off-farm work significantly alleviates the MEPI among rural households. This effect is particularly pronounced among entrepreneurial households and those residing in communities with a higher level of commercial development. On the other hand, the MEPI alleviation effect of distant off-farm work is relatively modest, and this mitigation effect disappears among households with left-behind students and those living in communities with lower levels of commercial development. Furthermore, both forms contribute to the alleviation of MEPI by enhancing household income. • This study examines the impact of off-farm work and its distance on energy poverty. • K-means method is utilized to identify the proximity of off-farm work. • Oprobit, CMP method, and mediating effect models are employed for empirical analysis. • Distant off-farm work's mitigative effect is significantly lower than local off-farm work. • The results highlight the significance of on-site transformation of agricultural labor for household well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the world's second-largest rural population, China faces the complex challenge of energy poverty in rural areas, and it is important to identify effective policy tools to alleviate energy poverty. The Rural Centralized Residence (RCR), a rural development policy, has been implemented in 24 provinces in China since 2004. This study was consequently motivated to formulate a hypothesis that RCR could reduce energy poverty in China's rural areas. The study used field survey data on 3484 rural households and employed the instrumental variable method to test the above hypothesis. It demonstrated that RCR can significantly cause the decline of the energy poverty in rural China by 14.5 percentage points in terms of composite energy poverty index. Further analyses showed that RCR could significantly improve household income, use of energy-efficient materials, and energy infrastructure supply, ultimately reducing the energy poverty in rural China. The newly found effect of RCR on energy poverty and its relevant mechanisms could help policymakers in China and elsewhere to deliberate, adopt and implement similar policies. • The effect of rural centralized residence (RCR) policy on energy poverty was scarcely examined. • The study found that RCR can significantly reduce the energy poverty in rural China. • The study examined the mechanisms underlying the RCR's effect on energy poverty. • RCR can significantly enhance household income and use of energy-efficient materials. • RCR can also enhance energy infrastructure supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) finding of increasing trend in income poverty in China since 2000, this paper studies income and multidimensional poverty in China between 2000 and 2011 using China Health and Nutrition Survey data. It is observed the ADB proposed approach, adjusted for vulnerability, demonstrates an upward trend in income poverty. Income poverty is decreasing, however, for the World Bank's poverty cut-offs ($1.25 or $1.90). To measure multidimensional poverty, along with income (with ADB's adjusted Asian poverty line and World Bank's poverty lines), other indicators such as health, education and living standards are considered in this paper. The evident disparities and diversities in rural and urban multidimensional poverty are further examined. Per capita net income, highest level of education and flush toilet are found to be major contributors to both rural and urban poverty. The rural–urban disparity in terms of mild and moderate poverty appears to have decreased in the period before 2009, however, there have been increases since then, and the gap in terms of severe poverty remained quite high in this decade. We find that food insecurity does not play a major role in the rural–urban disparity in poverty. In the recent period, health insurance has become more prominent in explaining urban destitution, while the rural population is found to be more vulnerable to income fluctuations. Our results also show long-term poverty to be highly influenced by health. Our findings raise questions about the adequacies in the provision of health insurance and the quality of education, particularly in rural China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese government devoted continuously to the rural poverty reduction program which was a long-term hot shot of government and academia since the Reform and Opening Up policy in 1978. Targeted poverty alleviation stratagem which aimed to fully eliminating regional overall poverty in 2020 was put into practice since 2013 in China. Since then, it achieved huge success and the number of people living in extreme poverty reduced sharply in China. But absolute poverty still existed in rural, for the increasing development disparity on account of regional variation; the urban-rural gap was prominent. According to research on rural poverty influencing factors, we found that it had significant differences at different areas and different scales, and lacked a common understanding. For it rarely thought about spatial effects of regional rural poverty for those current existing research on rural poverty influencing factors, it was necessary to study rural poverty influencing factors further. This paper analyzed spatial pattern of rural poverty and main influencing factors on county scale, by applying spatial econometric model and GIS spatial analysis based on the field trip and statistical data which including 15 factors that might influence rural poverty potentially for all of 129 counties in Yunnan province from 2010 to 2015, which intended to providing the theory basis for the formulation and implementation of scientific and effective regional macroscopic poverty reduction policy, and improving poverty reduction that combining poverty status and regional differences even more. This study carried out poverty alleviation and development zoning in Yunnan province, and proposed discrepant policy of regional rural poverty reduction. Results showed that: 1) The number of rural poverty population decreased year by year in Yunnan province, but which was still a high incidence area for rural poverty in China. Rural poverty demonstrated a “center-periphery-edge” pattern which corresponded to low, medium and high poverty among the 129 counties in Yunnan. High poverty areas were concentrated on the northwest, northeast, southeast and south of Yunnan, which involved Jinsha river reaches, Lancang river valley, Nujiang river valley and Red river basin. 2) Regression results of spatial lag model (SLM) showed that the significant influencing factors which affected county rural poverty included terrain relief, traffic distance to municipal government, illiterate rate of population at 15 years old and above of rural, number of hospital beds per thousand people, rate of elderly population at 65 years old and above of rural in Yunnan for the past few years. The regression coefficients of the five significant influencing factors were 0.005, 0.044, 0.380, -1.257 and -2.132 respectively. It produced positive effects on rural poverty for factors of terrain relief, traffic distance to municipal government, illiteracy rate at 15 years old and above of rural in Yunnan province, and the other two factors produced negative effects. 3) Rural poverty had regional differences in Yunnan. In terms of poverty degree and major factors of poverty influencing, Yunnan province was divided into 6 poverty reduction areas which were high poverty area at northwest of Yunnan, high poverty area at northeast of Yunnan, medium-high poverty area at west frontier of Yunnan, medium poverty area at west of Yunnan, high poverty area at southeast of Yunnan and low poverty area at central area of Yunnan. Poverty reduction should be accurately implemented according to regional poverty and major factors of poverty influencing, and strengthened the join forces between adjacent counties to consolidate results of poverty reduction in Yunnan. The spatial effect is an important part of regional rural poverty research, and can provide references for scientific and rational policy setting of regional poverty reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Rising energy expenditures due to more intensive use of energy in modern agriculture and increasing energy prices may affect rural households' agricultural incomes, particularly the incomes of the rural poor in developing countries. However, the exact link between energy costs and income among the rural poor needs further empirical investigation. The purpose of this paper is to develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between energy use and family income, using household-level panel data collected from 500 potato farmers in a poor region of Northern China, where eliminating poverty by 2020 is now the top government priority. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses household survey data collected from six counties in a poor region in northern China in 2013 to measure the relationship between energy cost and family income. A fixed effect model is employed to estimate the relationship. Findings: The findings indicate that potatoes play an important role in the surveyed families' incomes, and that the energy costs of potato production have a significant negative relationship with family income. However, this negative relationship is only significant for farmers with low economic standing, such as those living below or just above the poverty line. The negative relationship between energy costs and family income is only significant for those cultivating a certain size of potato-sown area; it is insignificant for those cultivating smaller areas. Originality/value: These findings indicate that, in general, reducing energy costs helps the poor increase their income but is not necessarily helpful to those with high economic standing or a relatively small potato-sown area. If rural development policies are to support poverty reduction and energy savings (at least in major potato production regions), interventions aimed at energy cost reduction may be effective only for the poor whose family income depends, to a relatively high degree, on potato production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The important role of spatial scale in exploring the geography of poverty as well as its policy implications has been noticed but with limited knowledge. To improve such limited understanding, we mainly investigated the spatial patterns and influencing factors of rural poverty (indicated by poor population and poverty incidence) at three different administrative levels in the Liupan Mountain Region, one of the fourteen poorest regions in China. Our results show that from a global perspective, poor areas are clustered significantly at the county-, township-, and village-level, and more greatly at a lower level. Locally, there is spatial mismatch among poverty hotspots detected not only by the same indicator at different levels but also by different indicators at the same level. A scale effect can be found in the influencing factors of rural poverty. That is, the number of significant factors increases, but the degree of their association with poverty incidence decreases at a lower level. Such scale effect indicates that poverty incidence at lower levels may be affected by more complex factors, including not only the new local ones but also the already appeared non-local ones at higher levels. However, the natural conditions tend to play a scale-independent role to poverty incidence. In response to such scale-dependent patterns and factors, anti-poverty policies can be 1) a multilevel monitoring system to reduce incomplete or even misleading single-level information and understanding; 2) the village-based targeting strategy to increase the targeting efficiency and alleviate the mentioned spatial mismatch; 3) more flexible strategies responding to the local impoverishing factors, and 4) different task emphasises for multilevel policymakers to achieve the common goal of poverty reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Poverty and its associated factors put people at risk for depression. The aims of this study were to describe the prevalence of depressive symptoms (DS) of primary caregivers and socioemotional development (SED) delays of young children in poor rural areas of China, and to explore the association between them. Cross‐sectional data of 2,664 children aged 3 to 35 months and their primary caregivers were used for analysis. Characteristics of the child, caregiver, and family were collected through face‐to‐face caregiver interviews. DS were assessed by the Zung Self‐Rating Depression Scale (W.W. Zung, 1965, as cited in World Health Organization, ), and SED was evaluated by the Ages and Stage Questionnaires: Social‐Emotional (J. Squires, D. Bricker, & L. Potter, 1997). The χ2 test, stratification analysis, and logistic regression analyses were used to explore the association. Among the caregivers, 40.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] [38.4, 42.1]), reported DS. Caregivers who were male, older and ethnic minorities as well as had a low level of education, a low family income, or more children were more likely to have DS. Of the children, 24.4% (95% CI [22.8, 26.0]) were recognized with SED delays. Older children displayed more delays than did younger children, but no significant differences between males and females were found. SED delays were significantly associated with mother outmigrating, male caregivers, older age, ethnic minorities, and low education or families with a single parent, low‐income, and having more children. Caregivers having DS, odds ratio (OR) = 2.40, 95% CI [1.99, 2.88], was a significant predictor of increased odds of SED delays; other factors were single‐parent family, OR = 1.99, 95% CI [1.37, 2.89], inadequate care, OR = 1.69, 95% CI [1.30, 2.21], physical punishment, OR = 1.61, 95% CI [1.33, 1.95], ethnic minorities, OR = 1.41, 95% CI [1.17, 1.71], and child age in months, OR = 1.03, 95% CI [1.02, 1.04], according to the logistic regression analysis. DS are prevalent among caregivers with young children in poor rural areas. Interventions to improve the mental health of caregivers and their parenting behaviors are needed to improve children's SED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature in population and development studies has examined the positive effects of rural-urban migration on the livelihoods and living standards of migrant workers. Less attention has been paid to the rural households trapped in poverty despite having family members working in the city. Drawing on a survey of rural households in the north of Jiangsu province, China, this paper examines how migration and an urban income affect the consumption patterns of poor rural households. The results confirm that among the rural poor, households with migrating members tend to have higher disposable incomes than immobile households. However, considerably higher living costs in the city compel these migrant households to be frugal and often split the family between the city and the rural home to minimize total household expenditures. Their incomes are often depleted by the costs of essential goods and services, such as housing, education, medication, transport, and other daily necessities. The findings reflect that many of China's poorest rural households are on the horns of a dilemma—having a job in the city mitigates poverty but often leads to the misery of family separation and the need to endure harsh living conditions for family members in the city. This urges policy changes to facilitate family migration and enhance rural welfare and resource provisions, especially in healthcare and education. • Migration affects the consumption patterns of poor rural households. • Urban livelihoods mitigate poverty but cause family separation and substandard living. • Policy recommendations to facilitate family migration and enhance education and healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]