IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v11y2024i1d10.1057_s41599-024-03204-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Escaping poverty: changing characteristics of China’s rural poverty reduction policy and future trends

Author

Listed:
  • Yunhui Wang

    (Sichuan University)

  • Yihua Chen

    (East China Normal University
    Cornell University)

  • Zhiying Li

    (Shandong University of Finance and Economics)

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Yunhui Wang & Yihua Chen & Zhiying Li, 2024. "Escaping poverty: changing characteristics of China’s rural poverty reduction policy and future trends," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:11:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-024-03204-0
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-024-03204-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-024-03204-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-024-03204-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jamie Cross & Tom Neumark, 2021. "Solar Power and its Discontents: Critiquing Off‐grid Infrastructures of Inclusion in East Africa," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 52(4), pages 902-926, July.
    2. Meishan Jiang & Krishna P. Paudel & Fan Zou, 2020. "Do Microcredit Loans Do What They Are Intended To Do? A Case Study of the Credit Village Microcredit Programme in China," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 763-792, July.
    3. Zhou, Yunbo & Huang, Xingzi & Shen, Yangyang & Tian, Liu, 2023. "Does targeted poverty alleviation policy lead to happy life? Evidence from rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    4. Arthur, W Brian, 1989. "Competing Technologies, Increasing Returns, and Lock-In by Historical Events," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(394), pages 116-131, March.
    5. Raghu Garud & Arun Kumaraswamy & Peter Karnøe, 2010. "Path Dependence or Path Creation?," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(4), pages 760-774, June.
    6. Yangyang Shen & Shi Li, 2022. "Eliminating poverty through development: The dynamic evolution of multidimensional poverty in rural China," Economic and Political Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 85-104, January.
    7. Deng, Jiapin, 2023. "Born to be different: The role of local political leaders in poverty reduction in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    8. Lucy Page & Rohini Pande, 2018. "Ending Global Poverty: Why Money Isn't Enough," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 32(4), pages 173-200, Fall.
    9. Wan, Guanghua & Hu, Xiaoshan & Liu, Weiqun, 2021. "China's poverty reduction miracle and relative poverty: Focusing on the roles of growth and inequality," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    10. Xin Yue & Kaining Mu & Lihang Liu, 2020. "Selection of Policy Instruments on Integrated Care in China: Based on Documents Content Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-17, March.
    11. Yang Song, 2012. "Poverty Reduction in China: The Contribution of Popularizing Primary Education," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 20(1), pages 105-122, January.
    12. Weilin Liu & Jingdong Li & Rong Zhao, 2023. "The effects of rural education on poverty in China: a spatial econometric perspective," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 176-198, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Martin Henning & Erik Stam & Rik Wenting, 2013. "Path Dependence Research in Regional Economic Development: Cacophony or Knowledge Accumulation?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(8), pages 1348-1362, September.
    2. Magali Malherbe & Fanny Simon-Lee, 2015. "Learning and knowledge accumulation as sources of influence for actors during path constitution: the example of the emergence of NFC technology," Post-Print hal-01597620, HAL.
    3. Neil Kay, 2013. "Lock-in, path dependence, and the internationalization of QWERTY," Working Papers 1310, University of Strathclyde Business School, Department of Economics.
    4. Sydow, Jörg & Schreyögg, Georg & Koch, Jochen, 2020. "Current interest in the theory of organizational path dependence: A short update on the occasion of the 2019 AMR Decade Award," Discussion Papers 2020/12, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    5. James Simmie, 2020. "Agency, new technological path creation and long waves of local economic growth in Oxfordshire," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 35(8), pages 723-746, December.
    6. Maximilian Benner, 2023. "Making spatial evolution work for all? A framework for inclusive path development," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 16(3), pages 445-462.
    7. Peter Buhanist, 2015. "Path Dependency in the Energy Industry: The Case of Long-term Oil-indexed Gas Import Contracts in Continental Europe," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 5(4), pages 934-948.
    8. Koen Frenken & Luis R. Izquierdo & Paolo Zeppini, 2012. "Recombinant Innovation and Endogenous Transitions," Working Papers 12-01, Eindhoven Center for Innovation Studies, revised Jan 2012.
    9. Rüdiger Wink & Laura Kirchner & Florian Koch & Daniel Speda, 2017. "Agency and forms of path development along transformation processes in German cities," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 10(3), pages 471-490.
    10. GianPaolo Abatecola, 2012. "Path Dependent Entrepreneurs? A Decision Making Perspective," DSI Essays Series, DSI - Dipartimento di Studi sull'Impresa, vol. 24.
    11. Garud, Raghu & Gehman, Joel, 2012. "Metatheoretical perspectives on sustainability journeys: Evolutionary, relational and durational," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 980-995.
    12. Alessia Berni & Mariavittoria Cicellin & Stefano Consiglio & Luigi Moschera, 2012. "The evolution of the Italian Temporary Work Agency field: A path dependence perspective," Discussion Papers 10_2012, CRISEI, University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy.
    13. Schmidt, Tobias S. & Battke, Benedikt & Grosspietsch, David & Hoffmann, Volker H., 2016. "Do deployment policies pick technologies by (not) picking applications?—A simulation of investment decisions in technologies with multiple applications," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(10), pages 1965-1983.
    14. Verdu-Jover, Antonio J. & Alos-Simo, Lirios & Gomez-Gras, Jose-Maria, 2018. "Adaptive culture and product/service innovation outcomes," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 330-340.
    15. Neil M Kay, 2013. "QWERTY and the search for optimality," Working Papers 1324, University of Strathclyde Business School, Department of Economics.
    16. Jill A. Küberling-Jost, 2021. "Paths of Corporate Irresponsibility: A Dynamic Process," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 579-601, March.
    17. Neil M., Kay, 2013. "Lock-in, path dependence, and the Internationalization of QWERTY," SIRE Discussion Papers 2013-41, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).
    18. Linmao Ma & Tonggen Ding & Jinsong Zhang, 2024. "Research on the Capability to Prevent Returning to Poverty and Its Enhancement Path for the Ecologically Fragile Areas: A Case Study of Enshi Prefecture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-36, June.
    19. Li, Bo & Lu, Shilin, 2023. "Labor education, cash transfers and student development: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    20. Roberts, Cameron & Geels, Frank W., 2019. "Conditions for politically accelerated transitions: Historical institutionalism, the multi-level perspective, and two historical case studies in transport and agriculture," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 221-240.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:11:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-024-03204-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.