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Community poverty and inequality in western China: A tale of three villages in Guizhou Province

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  • XING, Li
  • FAN, Shenggen
  • LUO, Xiaopeng
  • ZHang, Xiaobo

Abstract

Using a census survey of households in Guizhou Province, this paper examines the patterns of village poverty and inequality and their major correlates. The results show that poverty incidences vary greatly among villages and inequality is relatively high within villages in these impoverished areas. Although agriculture is still the major source of livelihood in this inland western region, income from local nonfarm jobs and remittance is more unevenly distributed and accounts for the largest share of overall income inequality. Surprisingly, blood donation is another major source of cash income. On the expenditure side, health care was found to be one of the most important sources of inequality. The paper also found that the distribution of assets, particularly land holdings, contributes to overall income inequality.

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  • XING, Li & FAN, Shenggen & LUO, Xiaopeng & ZHang, Xiaobo, 2009. "Community poverty and inequality in western China: A tale of three villages in Guizhou Province," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 338-349, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:20:y:2009:i:2:p:338-349
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    2. Yumei Zhang & Mateusz J. Filipski & Kevin Z. Chen, 2019. "Health Insurance And Medical Impoverishment In Rural China: Evidence From Guizhou Province," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(03), pages 727-745, June.
    3. Zhang, Lan & Feng, Shuyi & Heerink, Nico & Qu, Futian & Kuyvenhoven, Arie, 2018. "How do land rental markets affect household income? Evidence from rural Jiangsu, P.R. China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 151-165.
    4. Temilola Osinubi, Tolulope, 2020. "The Role Of Income Inequality In The Globalisation-Poverty Nexus: Empirical Evidence From Mint Countries," Ilorin Journal of Economic Policy, Department of Economics, University of Ilorin, vol. 7(2), pages 67-89, June.
    5. Zhang, Chunni & Xu, Qi & Zhou, Xiang & Zhang, Xiaobo & Xie, Yu, 2014. "Are poverty rates underestimated in China? New evidence from four recent surveys," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 410-425.
    6. Xie, Yu & Xu, Qi & Zhang, Chunni & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2013. "An evaluation of poverty prevalence in China: New evidence from four recent surveys:," IFPRI discussion papers 1293, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    7. Wenjing Han & Zhengfeng Zhang & Xiaoling Zhang & Li He, 2021. "Farmland Rental Participation, Agricultural Productivity, and Household Income: Evidence from Rural China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-22, August.
    8. Kleinwechter, Ulrich & Grethe, Harald, 2012. "Policy impacts under alternative land market regimes in rural China," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 125860, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. Qin, Yu & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2016. "The Road to Specialization in Agricultural Production: Evidence from Rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 1-16.
    10. Mine Sato, 2012. "Promoting Gender Equality by Facilitating Women's Collective Problem-Solving Capacity Development : Japanese Experience with the Post-War Life Improvement Program and its Application to Contemporary D," World Bank Publications - Reports 9185, The World Bank Group.
    11. Xi Chen, 2014. "Gift-Giving and Network Structure in Rural China: Utilizing Long-Term Spontaneous Gift Records," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(8), pages 1-14, August.
    12. James Alm & Yongzheng Liu, 2014. "China's Tax-for-Fee Reform and Village Inequality," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 38-64, March.
    13. Wei Sun & Xiaona Lin & Yutian Liang & Lu Li, 2016. "Regional Inequality in Underdeveloped Areas: A Case Study of Guizhou Province in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-18, November.
    14. Cheng, Xiaoyu & Wang, Jianying & Chen, Kevin Z., 2022. "Does villager social capital hinder poverty targeting? Evidence from poverty-stricken county of Western China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    15. Shenggen Fan & Ravi Kanbur & Shang-Jin Wei & Xiaobo Zhang, 2013. "The Economics of China: Successes and Challenges," NBER Working Papers 19648, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Kleinwechter, Ulrich & Grethe, Harald, 2012. "Trade policy impacts under alternative land market regimes in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 1071-1089.
    17. Xiao, Han & Zheng, Xinye & Xie, Lunyu, 2022. "Promoting pro-poor growth through infrastructure investment: Evidence from the Targeted Poverty Alleviation program in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    18. Eric Yaw Naminse & Jincai Zhuang, 2018. "Does farmer entrepreneurship alleviate rural poverty in China? Evidence from Guangxi Province," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(3), pages 1-18, March.

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