IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/jintdv/v35y2023i5p856-883.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do rural clan‐based networks reduce the risk of a return to poverty? Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Fang Xu
  • Xiaoru Zhang
  • Di Zhou

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Fang Xu & Xiaoru Zhang & Di Zhou, 2023. "Do rural clan‐based networks reduce the risk of a return to poverty? Evidence from China," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(5), pages 856-883, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:35:y:2023:i:5:p:856-883
    DOI: 10.1002/jid.3710
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3710
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/jid.3710?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stephen Knack & Philip Keefer, 1997. "Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-Country Investigation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1251-1288.
    2. Rashid Hassan & Patrick Birungi, 2011. "Social capital and poverty in Uganda," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 19-37.
    3. Zhang, Chuanchuan, 2020. "Clans, entrepreneurship, and development of the private sector in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 100-123.
    4. Jean-Philippe Platteau, 1997. "Mutual insurance as an elusive concept in traditional rural communities," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(6), pages 764-796.
    5. Cynthia Kinnan & Robert Townsend, 2012. "Kinship and Financial Networks, Formal Financial Access, and Risk Reduction," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(3), pages 289-293, May.
    6. Foltz, Jeremy & Guo, Yunnan & Yao, Yang, 2020. "Lineage networks, urban migration and income inequality: Evidence from rural China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 465-482.
    7. Olayinka Akanle & Olufunke A. Fayehun & Gbenga S. Adejare & Otomi A. Orobome, 2021. "International Migration, Kinship Networks and Social Capital in Southwestern Nigeria," Journal of Borderlands Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 319-332, March.
    8. Cheng, Jiameng & Dai, Yanke & Lin, Shu & Ye, Haichun, 2021. "Clan culture and family ownership concentration: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    9. Charles Dwumfour Osei & Jincai Zhuang, 2020. "Rural Poverty Alleviation Strategies and Social Capital Link: The Mediation Role of Women Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(2), pages 21582440209, May.
    10. Ward, Patrick S., 2016. "Transient Poverty, Poverty Dynamics, and Vulnerability to Poverty: An Empirical Analysis Using a Balanced Panel from Rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 541-553.
    11. Chuanchuan Zhang, 2019. "Family support or social support? The role of clan culture," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(2), pages 529-549, April.
    12. Avner Greif & Guido Tabellini, 2010. "Cultural and Institutional Bifurcation: China and Europe Compared," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 135-140, May.
    13. Muhammad Masood Azeem & Amin W. Mugera & Steven Schilizzi, 2018. "Vulnerability to Multi-Dimensional Poverty: An Empirical Comparison of Alternative Measurement Approaches," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(9), pages 1612-1636, September.
    14. Fubing Su & Tao Ran & Xin Sun & Mingxing Liu, 2011. "Clans, Electoral Procedures and Voter Turnout: Evidence from Villagers' Committee Elections in Transitional China," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 59(2), pages 432-457, June.
    15. Raghav Gaiha & Katsushi Imai, 2008. "Measuring Vulnerability and Poverty: Estimates for Rural India," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2008-40, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    16. Avraham Ebenstein, 2010. "The "Missing Girls" of China and the Unintended Consequences of the One Child Policy," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 45(1).
    17. Xu, Yiqing & Yao, Yang, 2015. "Informal Institutions, Collective Action, and Public Investment in Rural China," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 109(2), pages 371-391, May.
    18. Harrison, Jane L. & Montgomery, Claire A. & Jeanty, P. Wilner, 2019. "A spatial, simultaneous model of social capital and poverty," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 183-192.
    19. Yaohui Zhao, 2003. "The Role of Migrant Networks in Labor Migration: The Case of China," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 21(4), pages 500-511, October.
    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. Qiu, Tongwei & Li, Yifei & Shi, Xinjie & Peng, Changyan & Luo, Biliang, 2024. "Alternative modes of governance: Clans and social instability in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    2. Yongjun Tang & Qi Li & Fen Zhou & Mingjia Sun, 2024. "Does Clan Culture Promote Corporate Natural Resource Disclosure? Evidence from Chinese Natural Resource-Based Listed Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 192(1), pages 167-190, June.
    3. Tang, Can & Zhao, Zhong, 2022. "Informal institution meets child development," MERIT Working Papers 2022-032, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    4. Huang, Liangxiong & Ma, Minghui & Wang, Xianbin, 2022. "Clan culture and risk-taking of Chinese enterprises," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    5. Tang, Can & Zhao, Zhong, 2023. "Informal institution meets child development: Clan culture and child labor in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 277-294.
    6. Fan, Haichao & Li, Chang & Xue, Chang & Yu, Miaojie, 2023. "Clan culture and patterns of industrial specialization in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 457-478.
    7. Cao, Jiarui & Xu, Yiqing & Zhang, Chuanchuan, 2022. "Clans and calamity: How social capital saved lives during China's Great Famine," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    8. Liu, Taixing & Yin, Zhichao, 2024. "The clan and informal financing in China: An analysis of the trickle-down effect," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 646-666.
    9. Chen, Na & Yang, Huan, 2024. "From rural to urban: Clan, urbanization and trust," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    10. Jhon Edwar Hernández & Blanca Zuluaga, 2022. "Vulnerability to Multidimensional Poverty: An Application to Colombian Households," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 345-371, November.
    11. Ke Xu & Xianli Xia, 2023. "The Influence of Farmers’ Clan Networks on Their Participation in Living Environment Improvement during the Time of Transition in Traditional Rural China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-22, May.
    12. Zhang, Lin, 2022. "Patrilineality, fertility, and women's income: Evidence from family lineage in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    13. Cheng, Jiameng & Dai, Yanke & Lin, Shu & Ye, Haichun, 2021. "Clan culture and family ownership concentration: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    14. Zhengyang Li & Daisy Ju Huang, 2022. "Analysis of clans and employment in China from the aspect of gender," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 1567-1591, December.
    15. Frank Lee Zhang & Fairtown Zhou Ayoungman & Md. Shoriful Islam, 2024. "Institutional Capital, Ancestral Hall, and the Reshaping of Ancient Rule: an Empirical Analysis of the New Energy of Chinese Heritage Elements in Rural Revitalization," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 2726-2760, March.
    16. Giuseppina Guagnano & Elisabetta Santarelli & Isabella Santini, 2016. "Can Social Capital Affect Subjective Poverty in Europe? An Empirical Analysis Based on a Generalized Ordered Logit Model," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(2), pages 881-907, September.
    17. Lv, Xueliang & Yu, Yue & Zhao, Xiaomeng & Si, Deng-Kui, 2023. "Minimum wage and household economic vulnerability: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 624-646.
    18. Kouvavas, Omiros, 2013. "Political Budget Cycles Revisited, the Case for Social Capital," MPRA Paper 57504, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 15 Sep 2013.
    19. Melissa Dell & Nathan Lane & Pablo Querubin, 2018. "The Historical State, Local Collective Action, and Economic Development in Vietnam," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 86(6), pages 2083-2121, November.
    20. Liu, Feifei & He, Xinming & Wang, Tao, 2023. "In the name of the family: The effect of CEO clan culture background on firm internationalization," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

    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:wly:jintdv:v:35:y:2023:i:5:p:856-883. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/5102/home .

    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.