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Poverty alleviation in rural China: policy changes, future challenges and policy implications

Yansui Liu (Center for Assessment and Research on Targeted Poverty Alleviation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China)
Yuanzhi Guo (Center for Assessment and Research on Targeted Poverty Alleviation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China)
Yang Zhou (Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China)

China Agricultural Economic Review

ISSN: 1756-137X

Article publication date: 8 May 2018

6787

Abstract

Purpose

Poverty alleviation is a global challenge. Human society has never ceased to fight against poverty. China was once the developing country with the largest rural poor population in the world. Remarkable achievements have been made in China’s antipoverty program over the past decades, shaping a unique poverty reduction strategy with Chinese characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to first review the history of China’s rural reform and antipoverty, and then analyze the related policy systems, mechanism innovations and future challenges in poverty alleviation and development. At last, some specific policy implications were provided.

Design/methodology/approach

Literature on China’s antipoverty history was reviewed and mechanism innovations on targeted poverty alleviation strategy were investigated.

Findings

Along with the deepening of the rural reform, the poverty alleviation and development in new China have undergone six stages, and experienced a transformation from relief-oriented to development-oriented poverty alleviation. The object of poverty alleviation has gradually targeted with a transformation from poor counties/areas to villages/households, and the effectiveness of poverty alleviation is also gradually improved. However, the increase in the difficulty of antipoverty, fragile ecological environment, rapid population aging and rural decline poses challenges to the construction of a well-off society in an all-round way in China. Specific antipoverty measures were put forward based on the investigation. Finally, the authors emphasize the importance of strengthening the study of poverty geography.

Originality/value

This study investigates the history of China’s antipoverty policy and analyzes the future challenges for implementing targeted poverty alleviation policy. These findings will lay a foundation for the formulation of China’s antipoverty policies after 2020, and provide experience for poverty alleviation in other developing countries around the world.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos 41601172, 41471143) and the Certificate of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Grant (Grant No. 2016M591105). Cordial thanks should be given to two helpful and constructive reviewers whose comments greatly improved the manuscript.

Citation

Liu, Y., Guo, Y. and Zhou, Y. (2018), "Poverty alleviation in rural China: policy changes, future challenges and policy implications", China Agricultural Economic Review, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 241-259. https://doi.org/10.1108/CAER-10-2017-0192

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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