a case study on poverty

Featured Topics

Featured series.

A series of random questions answered by Harvard experts.

Explore the Gazette

Read the latest.

One way to help big groups of students? Volunteer tutors.

Footnote leads to exploration of start of for-profit prisons in N.Y.

Should NATO step up role in Russia-Ukraine war?

Robert Sampson, Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences, is one of the researchers studying the link between poverty and social mobility.

Rose Lincoln/Harvard file photo

Unpacking the power of poverty

Peter Reuell

Harvard Staff Writer

Study picks out key indicators like lead exposure, violence, and incarceration that impact children’s later success

Social scientists have long understood that a child’s environment — in particular growing up in poverty — can have long-lasting effects on their success later in life. What’s less well understood is exactly how.

A new Harvard study is beginning to pry open that black box.

Conducted by Robert Sampson, the Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences, and Robert Manduca, a doctoral student in sociology and social policy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the study points to a handful of key indicators, including exposure to high levels of lead, violence, and incarceration as key predictors of children’s later success. The study is described in an April paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“What this paper is trying to do, in a sense, is move beyond the traditional neighborhood indicators people use, like poverty,” Sampson said. “For decades, people have shown poverty to be important … but it doesn’t necessarily tell us what the mechanisms are, and how growing up in poor neighborhoods affects children’s outcomes.”

To explore potential pathways, Manduca and Sampson turned to the income tax records of parents and approximately 230,000 children who lived in Chicago in the 1980s and 1990s, compiled by Harvard’s Opportunity Atlas project. They integrated these records with survey data collected by the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, measures of violence and incarceration, census indicators, and blood-lead levels for the city’s neighborhoods in the 1990s.

They found that the greater the extent to which poor black male children were exposed to harsh environments, the higher their chances of being incarcerated in adulthood and the lower their adult incomes, measured in their 30s. A similar income pattern also emerged for whites.

Among both black and white girls, the data showed that increased exposure to harsh environments predicted higher rates of teen pregnancy.

Despite the similarity of results along racial lines, Chicago’s segregation means that far more black children were exposed to harsh environments — in terms of toxicity, violence, and incarceration — harmful to their mental and physical health.

“The least-exposed majority-black neighborhoods still had levels of harshness and toxicity greater than the most-exposed majority-white neighborhoods, which plausibly accounts for a substantial portion of the racial disparities in outcomes,” Manduca said.

“It’s really about trying to understand some of the earlier findings, the lived experience of growing up in a poor and racially segregated environment, and how that gets into the minds and bodies of children.” Robert Sampson

“What this paper shows … is the independent predictive power of harsh environments on top of standard variables,” Sampson said. “It’s really about trying to understand some of the earlier findings, the lived experience of growing up in a poor and racially segregated environment, and how that gets into the minds and bodies of children.”

More like this

Cities’ wealth gap is growing, too

Racial and economic disparities intertwined, study finds

The study isn’t solely focused on the mechanisms of how poverty impacts children; it also challenges traditional notions of what remedies might be available.

“This has [various] policy implications,” Sampson said. “Because when you talk about the effects of poverty, that leads to a particular kind of thinking, which has to do with blocked opportunities and the lack of resources in a neighborhood.

“That doesn’t mean resources are unimportant,” he continued, “but what this study suggests is that environmental policy and criminal justice reform can be thought of as social mobility policy. I think that’s provocative, because that’s different than saying it’s just about poverty itself and childhood education and human capital investment, which has traditionally been the conversation.”

The study did suggest that some factors — like community cohesion, social ties, and friendship networks — could act as bulwarks against harsh environments. Many researchers, including Sampson himself, have shown that community cohesion and local organizations can help reduce violence. But Sampson said their ability to do so is limited.

“One of the positive ways to interpret this is that violence is falling in society,” he said. “Research has shown that community organizations are responsible for a good chunk of the drop. But when it comes to what’s affecting the kids themselves, it’s the homicide that happens on the corner, it’s the lead in their environment, it’s the incarceration of their parents that’s having the more proximate, direct influence.”

Going forward, Sampson said he hopes the study will spur similar research in other cities and expand to include other environmental contamination, including so-called brownfield sites.

Ultimately, Sampson said he hopes the study can reveal the myriad ways in which poverty shapes not only the resources that are available for children, but the very world in which they find themselves growing up.

“Poverty is sort of a catchall term,” he said. “The idea here is to peel things back and ask, What does it mean to grow up in a poor white neighborhood? What does it mean to grow up in a poor black neighborhood? What do kids actually experience?

“What it means for a black child on the south side of Chicago is much higher rates of exposure to violence and lead and incarceration, and this has intergenerational consequences,” he continued. “This is particularly important because it provides a way to think about potentially intervening in the intergenerational reproduction of inequality. We don’t typically think about criminal justice reform or environmental policy as social mobility policy. But maybe we should.”

This research was supported with funding from the Project on Race, Class & Cumulative Adversity at Harvard University, the Ford Foundation, and the Hutchins Family Foundation.

Share this article

You might like.

Research finds low-cost, online program yields significant results

Historian traces 19th-century murder case that brought together historical figures, helped shape American thinking on race, violence, incarceration

National security analysts outline stakes ahead of July summit

When should Harvard speak out?

Institutional Voice Working Group provides a roadmap in new report

Had a bad experience meditating? You're not alone.

Altered states of consciousness through yoga, mindfulness more common than thought and mostly beneficial, study finds — though clinicians ill-equipped to help those who struggle

Finding right mix on campus speech policies

Legal, political scholars discuss balancing personal safety, constitutional rights, academic freedom amid roiling protests, cultural shifts

Poverty and Social Exclusion

Defining, measuring and tackling poverty, latest articles, home page featured articles, buenos aires 2017.

A recent report form the city of Buenos Aires measuring multi-dimensional poverty, using the consensual method, has found that in 2019, 15.3% of households were multi-dimensionally  poor, rising to  25.7% for households with children under 18 years of age. The method established will be used to measure nu,ti-dimensional poverty on an ongoing basis.

6th Townsend poverty conference ad

We are now delighted to offer you the presentation slides and video recordings of sessions across the three days, featuring formal presentations, interactive Q&As, networking opportunities and much more.

Child deprivation in EU member states, 2018

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Steering Group on Measuring Poverty and Inequality has been tasked with producing a guide on Measuring Social Exclusion which references a lot of our PSE work.

Households in poverty: five case studies

Find out what it really means to miss out on what others take for granted and the deep impact this has on lives and opportunities. The PSE team have filmed with five families living in London, north-east England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Between them, they represent each of the following key groups vulnerable to poverty:

• single parents on benefits
• the young unemployed
• low-paid workers supporting a family
• adults who are disabled
• single pensioners .

All lack a range of the necessities selected by the public as essential for a minimum living standard in the UK today (see the full list of child and adult necessities in explore the data ). They are all also living on a low income. Using the consensual method for defining poverty that underpins the PSE: UK research, each household is living in poverty.

The following series of short films were recorded between late 2011 and early 2012.  The PSE team is very grateful to all the families who are sharing their experiences with us.

Living in poverty featured articles

Featured case studies, the johnsons story.

Renée is 40 and works long hours for low pay to try to provide for her four children, aged 3 to 14, and her 80-year-old mother.

Jennie's story

Jennie is 39 and unemployed. She lives with her three sons, all of whom have disabilities, in Redbridge, outer London.

Marc's Story

Marc is 19 and lives in Redcar in north-east England, a town where there are twelve times as many people claiming job seeker’s allowance as there a

The burden of the downturn that followed the 2008 economic crash was borne by those on the lowest incomes (see Burden of economic downturn taken by the low paid ). In addition, the Coalition government’s austerity measures and changes to the tax and benefit system will impact heavily on those on lowest incomes. The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that the net effect will be a rise in both child and adult poverty levels (see UK poverty set to rise in next three years ). The government’s plans include cuts of £18 billion to the welfare budget between 2011 and 2014. While the introduction of Universal Credit should, in principle, increase the benefit entitlements of some households, these improvements are more than offset by other changes to personal taxes and state benefits, such as linking benefits to the Consumer Price Index rather than to the Retail Price Index (see Child and adult poverty set to rise by 2015 ). In addition, Universal Credit risks making certain groups significantly worse off, in particular single working mothers (see Welfare reforms could push 250,000 children deeper into poverty ).

Tweet this page

Suggestions or feedback?

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Machine learning
• Social justice
• Black holes
• Classes and programs

Departments

• Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Brain and Cognitive Sciences
• Architecture
• Political Science
• Mechanical Engineering

Centers, Labs, & Programs

• Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
• Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
• Lincoln Laboratory
• School of Architecture + Planning
• School of Engineering
• School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
• Sloan School of Management
• School of Science
• MIT Schwarzman College of Computing

A modest intervention that helps low-income families beat the poverty trap

Press contact :.

Previous image Next image

Many low-income families might desire to move into different neighborhoods — places that are safer, quieter, or have more resources in their schools. In fact, not many do relocate. But it turns out they are far more likely to move when someone is on hand to help them do it.

That’s the outcome of a high-profile experiment by a research team including MIT economists, which shows that a modest amount of logistical assistance dramatically increases the likelihood that low-income families will move into neighborhoods providing better economic opportunity.

The randomized field experiment, set in the Seattle area, showed the number of families using vouchers for new housing jumped from 15 percent to 53 percent when they had more information, some financial support, and, most of all, a “navigator” who helped them address logistical challenges.

“The question we were after is really what drives residential segregation,” says Nathaniel Hendren, an MIT economist and co-author of the paper detailing the results. “Is it due to preferences people have, due to having family or jobs close by? Or are there constraints on the search process that make it difficult to move?” As the study clearly shows, he says, “Just pairing people with [navigators] broke down search barriers and created dramatic changes in where they chose to live. This was really just a very deep need in the search process.”

The study’s results have prompted U.S. Congress to twice allocate $25 million in funds allowing eight other U.S. cities to run their own versions of the experiment and measure the impact.

That is partly because the result “represented a bigger treatment effect than any of us had really ever seen,” says Christopher Palmer, an MIT economist and a co-author of the paper. “We spend a little bit of money to help people take down the barriers to moving to these places, and they are happy to do it.”

Having attracted attention when the top-line numbers were first aired in 2019, the study is now in its final form as a peer-reviewed paper, “ Creating Moves to Opportunity: Experimental Evidence on Barriers to Neighborhood Choice ,” published in this month’s issue of the American Economic Review .

The authors are Peter Bergman, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin; Raj Chetty, a professor at Harvard University; Stefanie DeLuca, a professor at Johns Hopkins University; Hendren, a professor in MIT’s Department of Economics; Lawrence F. Katz, a professor at Harvard University; and Palmer, an associate professor in the MIT Sloan School of Management.

New research renews an idea

The study follows other prominent work about the geography of economic mobility. In 2018, Chetty and Hendren released an “Opportunity Atlas” of the U.S., a comprehensive national study showing that, other things being equal, some areas provide greater long-term economic mobility for people who grow up there. The project brought renewed attention to the influence of place on economic outcomes.

The Seattle experiment also follows a 1990s federal government program called Moving to Opportunity, a test in five U.S. cities helping families seek new neighborhoods. That intervention had mixed results : Participants who moved reported better mental health, but there was no apparent change in income levels.

Still, in light of the Opportunity Atlas data, the scholars decided revisit the concept, with a program they call Creating Moves to Opportunity (CMTO). This provides housing vouchers along with a bundle of other things: Short-term financial assistance of about $1,000 on average, more information, and the assistance of a “navigator,” a caseworker who would help troubleshoot issues that families encountered.   

The experiment was implemented by the Seattle and King County Housing Authorities, along with MDRC, a nonprofit policy research organization, and J-PAL North America. The latter is one of the arms of the MIT-based Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a leading center promoting randomized, controlled trials in the social sciences.

The experiment had 712 families in it, and two phases. In the first, all participants were issued housing vouchers worth a little more than $1,500 per month on average, and divided into treatment and control groups. Families in the treatment group also received the CMTO bundle of services, including the navigator.

In this phase, lasting from 2018 to 2019, 53 percent of families in the treatment group used the housing vouchers, while only 15 percent of those in the control group used the vouchers. Families who moved dispersed to 46 different neighborhoods, defined by U.S. Census Bureau tracts, meaning they were not just shifting en masse from one location to one other.

Families who moved were very likely to want to renew their leases, and expressed satisfaction with their new neighborhoods. All told, the program cost about $2,670 per family. Additional research scholars in the group have conducted about changes in income suggest the program’s direct benefits are 2.5 times greater than its costs.

“Our sense is that’s a pretty reasonable return for the money compared to other strategies we have to combat intergenerational poverty,” Hendren says.

Logistical and emotional support

In the second phase of the experiment, lasting from 2019 to 2020, families in a treatment group received individual components of the CMTO support, while the control group again only received the housing vouchers. This way, the researchers could see which parts of the program made the biggest difference. The vast majority of the impact, it turned out, came from receiving the full set of services, especially the “customized” help of navigators.

“What came out of the phase two results was that the customized search assistance was just invaluable to people,” Palmer says. “The barriers are so heterogenous across families.” Some people might have trouble understanding lease terms; others might want guidance about schools; still others might have no experience renting a moving truck.

The research turned up a related phenomenon: In 251 follow-up interviews, families often emphasized that the navigators mattered partly because moving is so stressful.

“When we interviewed people and asked them what was so valuable about that, they said things like, ‘Emotional support,’” Palmer observes. He notes that many families participating in the program are “in distress,” facing serious problems such as the potential for homelessness.

Moving the experiment to other cities

The researchers say they welcome the opportunity to see how the Creating Moves to Opportunity program, or at least localized replications of it, might fare in other places. Congress allocated $25 million in 2019, and then again in 2022, so the program could be tried out in eight metro areas: Cleveland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York City, Pittsburgh, and Rochester. With the Covid-19 pandemic having slowed the process, officials in those places are still examing the outcomes.

“It’s thrilling to us that Congress has appropriated money to try this program in different cities, so we can verify it wasn’t just that we had really magical and dedicated family navigators in Seattle,” Palmer says. “That would be really useful to test and know.”

Seattle might feature a few particularities that helped the program succeed. As a newer city than many metro areas, it may contain fewer social roadblocks to moving across neighborhoods, for instance.

“It’s conceivable that in Seattle, the barriers for moving to opportunity are more solvable than they might be somewhere else.” Palmer says. “That’s [one reason] to test it in other places.”

Still, the Seattle experiment might translate well even in cities considered to have entrenched neighborhood boundaries and racial divisions. Some of the project’s elements extend earlier work applied in the Baltimore Housing Mobility Program, a voucher plan run by the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership. In Seattle, though, the researchers were able to rigorously test the program as a field experiment, one reason it has seemed viable to try replicate it elsewhere.

“The generalizable lesson is there’s not a deep-seated preference for staying put that’s driving residential segregation,” Hendren says. “I think that’s important to take away from this. Is this the right policy to fight residential segregation? That’s an open question, and we’ll see if this kind of approach generalizes to other cities.”

The research was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, the Surgo Foundation, the William T. Grant Foundation, and Harvard University.

Share this news article on:

Related links.

• Nathaniel Hendren
• Christopher Palmer
• Department of Economics
• MIT Sloan School of Management

Related Topics

• Social sciences
• School of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences

Related Articles

How to avoid a “winner’s curse” for social programs

Nathaniel Hendren wants to understand the conditions of opportunity

Moving in circles

Previous item Next item

More MIT News

MIT Corporation elects 10 term members, two life members

Read full story →

Diane Hoskins ’79: How going off-track can lead new SA+P graduates to become integrators of ideas

Chancellor Melissa Nobles’ address to MIT’s undergraduate Class of 2024

Noubar Afeyan PhD ’87 gives new MIT graduates a special assignment

Commencement address by Noubar Afeyan PhD ’87

President Sally Kornbluth’s charge to the Class of 2024

• More news on MIT News homepage →

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, USA

• Map (opens in new window)
• Events (opens in new window)
• People (opens in new window)
• Careers (opens in new window)
• Accessibility
• Social Media Hub
• MIT on Facebook
• MIT on YouTube
• MIT on Instagram

Mozambique case study shows that poverty is about much more than income

Research Fellow, World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), United Nations University

Anthropologist and senior researcher, Chr. Michelsen Institute

Disclosure statement

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

United Nations University provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

View all partners

What does it mean to be poor? On the face of it, this may not sound like a very difficult question. In developed countries, almost all official and everyday definitions refer to poverty in income terms. In this sense, low consumption power (income) and poverty are essentially synonymous.

Outside of developed countries, a similar view of poverty frequently gets headlines. In its global comparisons, the World Bank has adopted the (in)famous poverty line of US$1.90 a day . So, people with daily real incomes below this amount form part of the global poor – thankfully, now a diminishing group.

One might dispute exactly how and where such a poverty line should be set. But the idea that being poor means not having an adequate income often seems uncontroversial.

Of course, among academics things are rarely so settled. Between economists, there is disagreement about whether poverty should be measured only in monetary terms. In other areas of social science, there is a tradition of scepticism that suggests standard quantitative definitions of poverty can be misleading .

Representing poverty as a kind of well-defined objective condition, like an infectious disease, focuses attention on the symptoms and immediate consequences of poverty. It risks diverting attention away from the underlying structural causes and diverse experiences of the poor.

Challenging official narratives

In a recent paper we explore contrasting views of well-being in Mozambique. Our interest reflects the country’s controversial track record. From the early 1990s until recently, Mozambique achieved one of the strongest sustained periods of aggregate economic growth of any country. Yet some argue this growth has largely not trickled down, leaving many behind.

Official poverty estimates undertaken by the government are of the classic quantitative or economic kind. Here a set of basic needs is identified and costed. Households consuming goods worth less than the cost of a minimal basket are deemed to be “poor”. Applying this definition, data from national surveys shows consumption poverty has declined over the past two decades at a steady, but not especially rapid, pace.

Today, almost half of all Mozambicans continue to live in absolute poverty. There are also large spatial gaps in well-being. For example, there is much lower poverty in the south of the country, around the capital city, reflecting widening levels of consumption inequality.

To provide perspective on this official narrative, a range of bottom-up studies of poverty , including our own, have been conducted by anthropologists in different parts of the country. These diverge in both form and content from the economic approach.

Indeed, the very starting point of this research has been distinctive. The intention was not to apply a pre-given or conceptually static definition of poverty, from which a count of the poor could proceed. Instead it was to probe local perspectives on well-being, the diverse forms of disadvantage, and the kinds of social relations in which disadvantage arises.

A main finding that emerges from the anthropological work is that we cannot see the poor without seeing the better-off. Local grammars of poverty – namely, the terms used to describe who are better- or worse-off – consistently distinguish between socially marginalised individuals and those with strong local social connections.

Perceptions of deprivation do highlight material deficiencies, such as a lack of food or clothes. But social relationships are vital to cope with vulnerability (shocks) and to facilitate social mobility. Being poor is intimately connected to one’s perceived “position” in a wider society and, through this, one’s scope for upward movement.

Self-reinforcing disadvantage

The anthropological view highlights the complex and often fairly localised ways in which the powerful, sometimes politically-connected, hoard opportunities for development. This reinforces existing divides and limits the social and economic mobility of the most disadvantaged.

For instance, the National District Development Fund in Niassa, Mozambique’s northern province, was seen as a main source of money for investment in (rural) economic activities. Formally, in allocating the funds, priority was to be given to agriculture rather than businesses, women rather than men, and associations rather than individuals.

But we found that the funds had been systematically co-opted by local influentes . These included traditional authorities, male entrepreneurs and the governing party elite through an intricate system of social relations of exclusion and bribes.

Other vignettes from the lives of the poor point to the diverse mechanisms through which disadvantage is reproduced. This is often linked to specific cultural practices that empower certain groups above others. They also point to the self-reinforcing nature of social and economic disadvantage.

For example, we met a single mother who had lost large parts of her harvest to drought two years in a row. She had struggled hard to put all her three children to school, but with no crops to sell and no well-placed family to support her, she could no longer pay the bribes necessary for her children to move up classes. We also encountered instances where people cut themselves off from vital relationships to avoid exposing themselves to the embarrassment of having failed and so as to preserve their dignity.

Making sense of disciplinary divides

How can we make sense of different disciplinary perspectives on poverty? On the one hand, it is tempting to seek some reconciliation. Surely, metrics of social capital or even subjective well-being can be added to existing measures of consumption power to provide a more complete characterisation of the poor? Or perhaps qualitative follow-ups among the consumption poor could be used to add local context?

Certainly, combined qualitative-quantitative approaches to poverty research have become popular and often yield richer insights than any one method on its own. Yet, as we elaborate in our paper, this somewhat misses the point.

There are fundamental philosophical differences between standard quantitative (economic) and qualitative (anthropological) traditions, which do not admit any easy fusion. These include differences in understandings about the form of social reality, what can be known about poverty, and how poverty is produced and reproduced.

For this reason, it is vital to allow separate and diverse perspectives on poverty to flourish. Each methodological approach has distinct strengths, limitations and policy uses.

The economic approach is essential to track economic progress over time on a consistent basis and identify households at greatest risk of consumption poverty (for example, to target social policy). But to uncover – and even resist – the inherently relational and often political ways in which poverty emerges and is reproduced requires a deeper, local, ethnographic touch.

Bringing these different perspectives into a meaningful dialogue with each other remains the next challenge.

• Southern Africa
• Peacebuilding
• Poverty2021

Data Manager

Research Support Officer

Director, Social Policy

Head, School of Psychology

Senior Research Fellow - Women's Health Services

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• BJPsych Bull
• v.44(5); 2020 Oct

Poverty and mental health: policy, practice and research implications

Lee knifton.

1 Centre for Health Policy, University of Strathclyde, Scotland, and Mental Health Foundation, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Greig Inglis

2 University of West of Scotland, Paisley

Associated Data

For supplementary material accompanying this paper visit https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2020.78.

This article examines the relationship between poverty and mental health problems. We draw on the experience of Glasgow, our home city, which contains some of Western Europe's areas of greatest concentrated poverty and poorest health outcomes. We highlight how mental health problems are related directly to poverty, which in turn underlies wider health inequalities. We then outline implications for psychiatry.

Doctors have often played leading roles in social movements to improve the public's health. These range from the early days of John Snow isolating the role of contaminated water supplies in spreading cholera, through to advocating harm reduction, challenging HIV stigma and, more recently, highlighting the public health catastrophe of mass incarceration in the USA. 1 Almost all examples are rooted in poverty. There is now increasing recognition that mental health problems form the greatest public health challenge of our time, and that the poor bear the greatest burden of mental illness. 2

Our article draws on data from Scotland, and especially Glasgow, which contains some of the areas of greatest need and widest health inequalities in Western Europe. However, the relationship between poverty, social stress and mental health problems is not a new phenomenon and was reported by social psychiatrists half a century ago in Langner & Michael's 1963 New York study 3 and consistently since then. Poverty is both a cause of mental health problems and a consequence. Poverty in childhood and among adults can cause poor mental health through social stresses, stigma and trauma. Equally, mental health problems can lead to impoverishment through loss of employment or underemployment, or fragmentation of social relationships. This vicious cycle is in reality even more complex, as many people with mental health problems move in and out of poverty, living precarious lives.

Poverty and mental health

The mental health of individuals is shaped by the social, environmental and economic conditions in which they are born, grow, work and age. 4 – 7 Poverty and deprivation are key determinants of children's social and behavioural development 8 , 9 and adult mental health. 10 In Scotland, individuals living in the most deprived areas report higher levels of mental ill health and lower levels of well-being than those living in the most affluent areas. In 2018 for example, 23% of men and 26% of women living in the most deprived areas of Scotland reported levels of mental distress indicative of a possible psychiatric disorder, compared with 12 and 16% of men and women living in the least deprived areas. 11 There is also a clear relationship between area deprivation and suicide in Scotland, with suicides three times more likely in the least than in the most deprived areas. 12

Inequalities in mental health emerge early in life and become more pronounced throughout childhood. In one cohort study, 7.3% of 4-year-olds in the most deprived areas of Glasgow were rated by their teacher as displaying ‘abnormal’ social, behavioural and emotional difficulties, compared with only 4.1% in the least deprived areas. By age 7, the gap between these groups had widened substantially: 14.7% of children in the most deprived areas were rated as having ‘abnormal’ difficulties, compared with 3.6% of children in the least deprived. 13 National data from parental ratings of children's behaviour show a similar pattern: at around 4 years of age, 20% of children living in the most deprived areas of Scotland are rated as having ‘borderline’ or ‘abnormal’ levels of difficulties, compared with only 7% living in the least deprived areas. 14

These findings reflect a broader pattern of socioeconomic inequalities in health that is observed internationally. 15 The primary causes of these inequalities are structural differences in socioeconomic groups’ access to economic, social and political resources, which in turn affect health through a range of more immediate environmental, psychological and behavioural processes. 16 , 17 A wide range of risk factors are more prevalent among low income groups for example, including low levels of perceived control 18 and unhealthy behaviours such as smoking and low levels of physical activity, 11 although these are best understood as mechanisms that link the structural causes of inequality to health outcomes. 17

Excess mortality and mental health in Glasgow

Glasgow has some of the highest Scottish rates of income deprivation, working-age adults claiming out of work benefits, and children living in low-income families. 19 Moreover, the city also reports poor mental health, relative to the Scottish average, on a host of indicators, including lower mental well-being and life satisfaction, and higher rates of common mental health problems, prescriptions for anxiety, depression or psychosis, and greater numbers of patients with hospital admissions for psychiatric conditions. 19

These statistics are consistent with Glasgow's overall health profile and high rates of mortality. Life expectancy in Glasgow is the lowest in Scotland. For example, men and women born in Glasgow in 2016–2018 can expect to live 3.6 and 2.7 fewer years respectively than the Scottish average. 20 Within Glasgow, men and women living in the most deprived areas of the city can expect to live 13.5 and 10.7 fewer years respectively than those living in the least deprived areas. 21

The high level of mortality in Glasgow can largely be attributed to the effects of deprivation and poverty in the city, although high levels of excess mortality have also been recorded in Glasgow, meaning a significant level of mortality in excess of that which can be explained by deprivation. For example, premature mortality (deaths under 65 years of age) is 30% higher in Glasgow compared with Liverpool and Manchester, despite the similar levels of deprivation between these cities. 22 Crucially, this excess premature mortality is in large part driven by higher rates of ‘deaths of despair’ 23 in Glasgow, namely deaths from suicide and alcohol- and drug-related causes. 22

It has been proposed that excess mortality in Glasgow can be explained by a number of historical processes that have rendered the city especially vulnerable to the hazardous effects of deprivation and poverty. These include the lagged effects of historically high levels of deprivation and overcrowding; regional policies that saw industry and sections of the population moved out of Glasgow; the nature of urban change in Glasgow during the post-war period and its effects on living conditions and social connections; and local government responses to UK policies during the 1980s. 24 On the last point, Walsh and colleagues 24 describe how the UK government introduced a host of neoliberal policies during this period – including rapid deindustrialisation – that had particularly adverse effects in cities such as Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool. While Manchester and Liverpool were able to mitigate the negative effects of these national policies to some extent by pursuing urban regeneration and mobilising the political participation of citizens, there were fewer such efforts made in Glasgow, which contributed to the diverging health profiles of the cities.

These researchers have also suggested that this excess mortality may partly reflect an inadequate measurement of deprivation. 24 However, that does not capture the reality of living in poverty. One aspect of this lived experience that may be important is the experience of poverty-based stigma and discrimination. 25 Stigma is a fundamental cause of health inequalities, 26 and international evidence has demonstrated that poverty stigma is associated with poor mental health among low-income groups. 27 Individuals living in socioeconomically deprived areas may also experience ‘spatial’ stigma, which similarly has a range of adverse health effects for residents 28 and, crucially, may be unintentionally exacerbated by media and public health professionals’ reports of regional health inequalities. 29 Given the continued focus on Glasgow's relatively poor health it is possible that the city is more vulnerable to such stigmatising processes. However, we stress that additional research will be required to test whether stigma is an important aspect of the lived reality of poverty, particularly as several psychosocial explanations have already been offered for the excess mortality, with varying levels of supporting evidence. 24 The notion of intersectional stigma is also gaining traction and requires further research.

Understanding the life-course impact of poverty on mental health is also important. Childhood adversity is one mechanism through which poverty and deprivation have an impact on mental health. Adverse childhood experiences, such as exposure to abuse or household dysfunction, are relatively common in the population. Marryat & Frank examined the prevalence of seven adverse childhood experiences among children born in 2004–2005 in Scotland, and found that approximately two-thirds had experienced at least one adverse experience by age 8. 30 Moreover, the prevalence was greatest in low-income households: only 1% of children in the highest-income households had four or more adverse childhood experiences, compared with 10.8% in the lowest-income households. Adverse childhood experiences are also strong predictors of mental health in adulthood: individuals who have experienced at least four are at a considerably greater risk of mental ill health, problematic alcohol use and drug misuse. 31 It has also been suggested that experiences of childhood adversity and complex trauma may contribute to Glasgow's – and Scotland's – excess mortality, particularly that which is attributable to violence, suicide and alcohol and drug-related deaths. 32 The implications are significant for psychiatry. Not only does it offer a broader explanation of causation; it also highlights the importance of supporting early interventions for young people's mental health and supporting the families – including children – of those experiencing mental health problems.

Implications

When faced with the scale of the challenge the response can be daunting. This is especially so at a time when we see increasing poverty and socioeconomic inequalities within our society and challenging political conditions. The complexity and enduring nature of the problems necessitate a multilevel response from psychiatry across practice, policy, advocacy and research, which we explore in this section. We argue that this response should address three broad areas.

Reinvigorate social psychiatry and influence public policy

The demise of social psychiatry in the UK and USA in recent decades has deflected focus away from the social causes and consequences of mental health problems at the very time that social inequalities have been increasing. Now is the time to renew social psychiatry at professional and academic levels. There is considerable scope to form alliances with other areas – especially public mental health agencies and charities. Psychiatry as a profession should support those advocating for progressive public policies to reduce poverty and its impact. If we do not, then, as Phelan and colleagues outline, we will focus only on the intermediate causes of health inequalities, rather than the fundamental causes, and this will ensure that these inequalities persist and are reproduced over time. 33 Activism with those who have consistently highlighted the links between poverty and mental health problems, such as The Equality Trust, may effect change among policy makers.

Tackle intersectional stigma and disadvantage

We must understand, research and tackle stigma in a much more sophisticated way by recognising that mental health stigma does not sit in isolation. We need to understand and address what Turan and colleagues define as intersectional stigma. 34 Intersectional stigma explains the convergence of multiple stigmatised identities that can include ethnicity, gender, sexuality, poverty and health status. This can then magnify the impact on the person's life. In this context, the reality is that you have a much greater chance of getting a mental health problem if you experience poverty. And if you do, then you will likely experience more stigma and discrimination. Its impact on your life will be greater, for example on precarious employment, housing, education and finances. It is harder to recover and the impact on family members may be magnified. Intersectional stigma remains poorly researched and understood, 35 although the health impact of poverty stigma is now emerging as an important issue in studies in Glasgow and elsewhere. 25

Embed poverty-aware practice and commissioning

We conclude with our third idea, to ensure that poverty-aware practice is embedded in services through commissioning, training and teaching. This means that recognising and responding to poverty is part of assessments and care. Income maximisation schemes should be available as an important dimension of healthcare: how to access benefits, manage debt, access local childcare and access support for employment at the earliest stages. This needs to be matched by a major investment in mental health services focused on low-income areas, to address the inverse care law. 36 These principles are already being put into action. For example across Scotland, including Glasgow, several general practices working in the most deprived areas (referred to as Deep End practices) have recently trialled the integration of money advice workers within primary care, which has generated considerable financial gains for patients. 37

About the authors

Lee Knifton is Reader and Co-Director of the Centre for Health Policy at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, and Director of the Mental Health Foundation, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Greig Inglis is a lecturer in psychology at the University of West of Scotland, Paisley, Scotland.

Author contributions

Both authors were fully and equally involved in the design of the article, drafting the article and making revisions to the final version and are accountable for the integrity of the work.

Declaration of interest

Supplementary material.

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• My Account Login
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Open access
• Published: 30 May 2024

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

• Yunhui Wang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8824-6109 1   na1 ,
• Yihua Chen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9089-4172 2 , 3   na1 &
• Zhiying Li   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2219-5473 4  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  11 , Article number:  694 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

66 Accesses

Metrics details

• Development studies
• Social policy

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.

Similar content being viewed by others

Does the BRI contribute to poverty reduction in countries along the Belt and Road? A DID-based empirical test

Feminization of poverty: an analysis of multidimensional poverty among rural women in China

The effects of China’s poverty eradication program on sustainability and inequality

Problem statement.

The aspiration to eliminate poverty has been a longstanding societal ideal since ancient times. It represents an intrinsic right for people across the globe in their pursuit of a fulfilling life. The elimination of hunger and poverty, central targets outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, also stands as a cornerstone in the development agendas of numerous nations worldwide. Rowntree’s ( 1902 ) early definition of poverty in 1902 classified it as primary and secondary poverty. He argued that a family is in poverty when its total income fails to meet the essential survival needs of its members. This concept is considered the foundation of research into absolute poverty. Essentially, absolute poverty is a physiological concept that explores the link between nutrition and survival (Lister, 2021 ). As economic and social development advances, Peter Townsend contends that absolute poverty overlooks the social and cultural aspects of ‘human need,’ both ‘need’ and ‘poverty’ are products of social construction. “Both ‘need’ and ‘poverty’ are social constructs.” Townsend ( 1979 ) introduced the concept of relative poverty, which signifies exclusion from typical social lifestyles and activities. However, Sen ( 1982 ) proposed in “Poverty and Famine” that the core of poverty lies in the lack of viability rather than mere low income. Alongside research, countries generally categorize poverty into absolute and relative forms. Research shows that most of the world’s impoverished population resides in rural areas (Poverty and Initiative, 2018 ). The capacity of rural people to elevate themselves from poverty holds profound implications for their daily sustenance and global food security. The United Nations and countries worldwide are working to eradicate rural poverty by promoting inclusive growth and sustainable livelihoods.

As an agricultural powerhouse with a massive rural populace, China’s countryside constituted over 80% of its total population in the nascent years following the establishment of the People’s Republic. The rapid economic growth brought about by the reform and opening-up has also exacerbated the development gap between urban and rural areas. The natural and economic factors that have long impeded rural development have become more pronounced, with the hollowing out of the countryside, the aging of the population, the abandonment of infrastructure, environmental degradation, and persistent poverty drawing the Government’s attention. In 1978, 250 million rural residents living under the poverty threshold of 100 RMB annual per capita income represented a 30.7% rural poverty rate Footnote 1 (see Fig. 1 ). Alleviating rural poverty thus emerged as an urgent priority fettering China’s socioeconomic advancement. Since the 1980s, the Chinese Government has embarked on large-scale anti-poverty initiatives in the countryside, promulgating numerous policies that achieved remarkable success in eradicating absolute poverty. From 1985 to 2000, the rural absolute impoverished population rapidly declined from 125 million to 32.09 million, with poverty rates plummeting dramatically from 14.8% to 3.5%. Upon entering the 21st century, both the quantity and incidence of rural absolute poverty persisted in substantial decreases. In 2015, the Central Government further proposed targeted poverty alleviation targets. By 2020, China had accomplished its poverty alleviation targets, eliminating destitution under extant standards.

The rural poor population and poverty incidence rate for 1985–2000 were calculated using the 1978 poverty standard per capita net income of 100 yuan; the rural poor population and poverty incidence rate for 2000–2020 were calculated using the 2010 poverty standard per capita net income of 2300 yuan—data from China Statistical Yearbook.

Governance refers to the process by which a variety of governmental and non-governmental institutions and actors work together to establish conditions for social order and collective action (Stoker, 2012 ). It involves diverse approaches employed by individuals and institutions, both public and private, to manage public affairs. This ongoing process entails cooperative actions, including the implementation of formal institutional arrangements and the agreement on informal arrangements that align with their interests (The Commission on Global Governance, 1995 ). Kooiman and Jentoft ( 2009 ) introduced three essential elements of governance: imagery, instruments, and action. Imagery refers to the rationale behind governance, encompassing vision, judgment, beliefs, and goals, typically grounded in systematic values or knowledge systems. Instruments involve the selection and application of governance methods, serving as intermediaries that connect imagery to action. Action, in turn, represents the practical implementation of these “instruments”. Poverty governance in China constitutes a collaborative effort among the government, market, and society, with a focus on people’s interests, aimed at achieving common prosperity. It encompasses both economic and social dimensions, with the goal of reducing poverty, protecting the rights of the impoverished, and enhancing social equity. In this fight against poverty, which is the largest and most robust in the history of human poverty alleviation, China has taken many original and unique major governance initiatives and accumulated a series of replicable and generalizable experiences in poverty alleviation. However, eliminating absolute poverty does not mean there is no poverty in China, and China is still far from achieving high-quality and high-standard poverty alleviation (Zhou et al., 2020 ). Poverty presents dynamic, multifaceted challenges, including policy-dependent severe behaviors (Wan et al., 2021 ) and the objectivity that relative poverty cannot be entirely eradicated (Hagenaars, 2014 ). With China’s elimination of absolute poverty, the Government’s poverty alleviation focus has shifted from abolishing destitution to alleviating relative hardship (Shen and Li, 2022 ). Given the evolving forms and aims of poverty governance, the period of relative poverty alleviation necessitates continued efforts to prevent regression and enact efficacious policies to mitigate dependence. There is an urgent need to clarify questions about optimal relative poverty governance policies and how they differ from periods of absolute poverty governance. However, current literature exhibits limited systematic investigation into the textual content of absolute rural poverty policies. This study offers an original contribution by analyzing policy texts to reveal changes in China’s poverty reduction policy from the absolute to relative poverty governance periods.

This paper examines the Chinese Government’s rural poverty alleviation policies over time, utilizing content analysis to address two key questions: First, what characterized the Government’s poverty governance model during absolute poverty governance, and what was the operational logic? Second, in the relative poverty governance period, how is pro-poor policy logically related to absolute poverty governance, and what policies should the Government adopt? Answering these questions scientifically can delineate dynamic changes in China’s rural absolute poverty policy instruments, analyze the utility and limitations of existing pro-poor instruments, and inform suggestions to optimize relevant policies moving forward. The research aims to contribute Chinese experiences and insights to the broader cause of international poverty alleviation. Examining the evolution of poverty governance models and policy instruments across periods of absolute and relative poverty has implications for developing effective, context-specific poverty reduction strategies tailored to contemporary implementation environments.

Literature review

Research of the typology of policy instruments.

Policy instruments, sometimes called government or governance instruments, represent the government’s strategies and actions to attain policy targets (Hughes, 2017 ). No universal standard exists for categorizing policy instruments, leading researchers to classify them based on distinct characteristics and targets. Dahl and Lindblom ( 1953 ) have proposed a classification of instruments into regulatory and non-regulatory categories based on their authority attributes; Owen E. Hughes categorizes policy instruments into four distinct groups: government supply, production, subsidies, and regulation, based on the Government’s functions (Hughes, 2017 ); Rothwell and Zegveld categorize policy instruments into three groups: supply, environmental, and demand, considering their intended purposes Howlett and Remash distinguish among voluntary, hybrid, and coercive instruments based on the level of coercion (Howlett et al., 1995 ).

Based on typological analyses and investigations of policy instruments, some scholars have also directed their attention to the factors that influence the choice and utilization of policy instruments to better achieve policy targets in intricate public policy decision-making and implementation contexts. Several studies have emphasized the “fit” of policy instruments, whereby the selection of these instruments is associated with policy targets, the development of state capacity, civil society (Howlett et al., 1995 ), temporal characteristics, field-specific attributes, instrument attributes, and policy strength, all of which impact the effectiveness of policy instrument configurations (Zhang et al., 2022 ). This concept captures the degree of alignment between the selection of policy instruments and specific conditions. In line with this notion, research has conducted empirical analyses of the selection and allocation of policy instruments in specific domains, such as China’s research and development of new energy vehicles (Shao et al., 2021 ), low-carbon city pilot programs (Hong et al., 2021 ), and government attention to the power sector (Cheng and Yang, 2023 ).

Chinese scholars emphasize the role of the Government as a policy solution provider and prefer the “supply-demand-environment” policy instrument classification framework proposed by Rothwell and Zegveld (Rothwell and Zegveld, 1984 ) when conducting policy instrument research and apply it to environmental governance (Liao, 2018 ), energy policy (Li et al., 2023 ; Yang et al., 2021 ), and photovoltaic poverty alleviation (Zhang et al., 2018 ), among other policy area studies.

The selection of policy instruments in poverty alleviation research

In several developing countries, the implementation of measures such as increased financial support, infrastructure development, and enhanced educational levels plays a crucial role in elevating the income of impoverished individuals and stimulating economic growth in disadvantaged regions (Arsani et al., 2020 ; Cross and Neumark, 2021 ; Deepika and Sigi, 2014 ; Mugo and Kilonzo, 2017 ; Page and Pande, 2018 ). This pattern extends to China as well. With the growing focus on policy instrument research, the policy instrument perspective has become increasingly prominent in examining various policy domains (Peters, 2020 ). Nonetheless, the literature concerning inductive analysis utilizing policy instrument typology, grounded in the attributes and characteristics of poverty alleviation, remains exceedingly scarce. Although a substantial portion of research related to poverty alleviation centers on specific policy measures, it remains pertinent.

Promoting industrial development is a paramount strategy in pursuing poverty eradication. As elucidated by Mariara and Kiriti ( 2020 ), the advancement of the industrial sector can bring about more substantial benefits for impoverished communities by facilitating the organization and active participation of rural populations within the industrial framework. It enhances production efficiency and reshapes production dynamics, ultimately culminating in economic development-driven poverty alleviation. Furthermore, Economic development can also be attained through strategic infrastructure development. Zhou et al. ( 2023 ) found that transport infrastructure can significantly enhance economic development, especially public investment in poor areas, and therefore, infrastructure development should be a priority policy option.

Poverty alleviation through education represents an enduring mechanism for sustained poverty reduction. Song ( 2012 ) explored the influence of primary education on China’s labor market, discovering that universal access to primary education yielded a significant reduction in poverty within China, with urban areas particularly benefiting from this effect. Liu et al. ( 2023 ) found that compulsory education more effectively addresses rural poverty than upper-secondary education. The Government should prioritize implementing compulsory education as a long-term policy instrument in rural areas, recognizing its potency in poverty alleviation.

The empowerment of underprivileged individuals can be aptly realized through talent development and expanding employment opportunities. Guo and Wang ( 2021 ) found that rural labor transfer augments the per capita livelihood capital of the remaining population and facilitates the escape from vulnerability and the attainment of stable employment among the impoverished. The significance of government service support for impoverished segments of society should not be underestimated. Yang and Cao ( 2022 ) revealed that augmenting the provision of fundamental public services in rural areas constitutes a crucial strategy for alleviating rural poverty, significantly reducing the incidence of such poverty. Furthermore, Jiang et al. ( 2020 ) uncovered that engaging farmers in underdeveloped and impoverished regions of China in savings and commercial insurance can effectively diminish poverty vulnerability. Deng ( 2019 ) also found that savings and commercial insurance can reduce health expenditures where catastrophic or poverty-inducing levels occur.

The primary approach to poverty alleviation is intricately linked to the formulation and execution of public policies. Government-led initiatives constitute a crucial facet of China’s poverty governance, highlighting the pivotal role of policy instrument selection and allocation. Scholarly investigations have delved into using policy instruments in poverty alleviation, enriching our comprehension of related policies. Nonetheless, research combining policy instruments to scrutinize pro-poor policy evolution remains limited (Zhang et al., 2018 ), with a dearth of comprehensive examinations that draw on policy instrument theory to elucidate pro-poor policy change and optimization recommendations. Consequently, this study commences when the Chinese Government launched large-scale poverty alleviation efforts, focusing on central policy documents closely associated with poverty alleviation between 1984 and 2022. It employs content analysis to conduct text mining of standardized policy documents, dissecting the semantic information conveyed by specific word frequencies and frequencies within the policy texts across various phases. When coupled with coding results, these findings facilitate the categorization and quantitative analysis of policy instruments for poverty alleviation, enabling a comprehensive discussion on their application in poverty governance.

Analytical framework and research methods

Policy text selection.

The sample for this study is primarily obtained from the Peking University-Chinese Laws and Regulations Database. Focus on policy samples regarding poverty alleviation and reduction from 1984 to 2022. First, utilizing the keywords “poverty, poverty reduction, poverty alleviation, help, and special hardship,” examining central laws and regulations, and conducting a full-text search for the timeframe up to November 2, 2022, is necessary. To ensure the comprehensiveness of the policy texts, this study supplemented the selected policies by using the policy repositories on the official websites of the State Council, the State Council’s Bureau of Rural Revitalization, and various government agencies.

Furthermore, this study follows specific policy selection criteria to ensure the representativeness of the selected policy document: first, the government-issued policy texts are heavily linked to poverty alleviation and reduction efforts. To accurately reflect the national Government’s attitudes and actions towards poverty alleviation, the literature must directly outline their measures. The literature’s scope should encompass policy documents from different areas of social development; second, the selected texts mainly include notices, announcements, opinions and methods, decisions, and other policy documents from the central Government and its supervised ministries and commissions. Finally, the study selected 762 policy texts that met its needs.

Policy analysis framework

Policy instruments are one of the most important ways to study and analyze public policies. As the primary means and effective way of government management, policy instruments have an essential impact on the implementation effect of public policies. China’s poverty alleviation policies have been regularly adjusted in response to changing goal circumstances, making the timing of policy implementations a crucial element in tracking the evolution and forecasting future trends of poverty alleviation in the country. The policy target is the core element of public policy, an essential criterion for measuring the degree of response to public problems, and it also determines the means chosen to achieve the target. Hence, this paper examines the trends in China’s anti-poverty policy from three perspectives: policy initiation time, policy targets, and policy instruments.

Time dimension. This paper analyzes the characteristics and influencing factors of China’s poverty alleviation policies in different periods by examining the quantitative trends and evolution of policies over time. Starting from the period of the Chinese Government’s large-scale poverty alleviation efforts, we will examine the development of these policies in a historical context.

Policy goal dimension. In order to sort out China’s anti-poverty policies in a more detailed way, China’s anti-poverty policy targets will be divided into specific categories based on the value of the targets. For a long time, China’s rural poor groups generally have had poor economic conditions, lack of ability, and insufficient support and assistance groups. Given this, this paper divides anti-poverty policy targets into three major categories: economic development category, capacity-building category, and service support category. The economic development category is to improve the infrastructure construction and economic development level of poor areas to drive the poor groups out of poverty and become rich. The service support category provides various services and policy support for developing poor groups, such as employment skills training, policy promotion and interpretation, and information and counseling services for poor groups. Capacity building focuses on the self-development awareness of poor groups and the cultivation and enhancement of their capacities to make up for the shortcomings of development and strengthen the endogenous motivation for poverty alleviation and enrichment.

Policy instruments dimension. Each classification of policy instruments has specific application scenarios, and their combination and comprehensive use aims to maximize effectiveness and synergistic value. However, the policy instrument model Roy Rothwell and Walter Zegveld developed is more comprehensive and operational from a comparative standpoint (Dylander, 1980 ). The analytical framework presents a downgraded view of the complex policy system, focusing on the instruments and measures for operationalizing policy instruments. It highlights the dual effectiveness of intra-dimensional aggregation and inter-dimensional differentiation to aid in identifying each policy instrument’s content and boundaries, thus simplifying the presentation of specific operations. Due to the superiority of this policy model, it has been widely used in policy research in many fields, such as economic development (Eisinger, 1988 ), environmental pollution prevention (Qin and Youhai, 2020 ), and public health care (Yue et al., 2020 ). Concurrently, within the realm of rural poverty governance in China, the backing furnished by both central and local governments for poverty alleviation development, the cultivation of a propitious economic, social, and legal milieu through high-level strategic planning to steer and oversee the trajectory of development in the sphere of poverty alleviation, alongside the emphasis placed on the regulatory functions of central and local governments in shaping poverty alleviation policies in line with market and societal demands to address the genuine requirements of impoverished segments of society, all underscore the pivotal role of government macroeconomic control.

These strategies primarily hinge on the implementation paths meticulously devised by policymakers to attain their designated policy targets. They exhibit a substantial congruence with the internal logic and external utility of supply-side, environment-side, and demand-side policy instruments. Consequently, this approach serves as a valuable analytical instrument within this paper.

Supply-side instruments refer to the Government’s role as a provider, taking the necessary measures to ensure the basic livelihood security of people experiencing poverty and to improve the quality of life and development motivation of people experiencing poverty, specifically including financial inputs, information services, talent training, and infrastructure construction. Demand-side instruments measures refer to the Government’s efforts to stimulate consumption in poverty-stricken areas by promoting poverty alleviation markets, expanding poverty alleviation channels, and promoting poverty alleviation industries, including government purchase, service outsourcing, market shaping, and collaborative exchanges. Environment-side instruments refer to the strong guarantee provided by the Government to create a favorable external environment for poverty alleviation, strengthen the elements of poverty alleviation, and stimulate the endogenous impetus, specifically target planning, regulatory control, tax incentives, and guiding publicity. Examining the policy instruments’ specific measures makes it possible to understand the differentiation of the anti-poverty governance approach, the existing problems, and the direction of future improvement.

The deployment of these three policy instruments within poverty alleviation reinforces one another, as depicted in Fig. 2 . When viewed through the lens of poverty reduction as a mechanism for propelling economic and social development in impoverished regions, the evolution and advancement of poverty alleviation stem from the interaction and synergy among pushing, pulling, and external forces. In this dynamic, the three policy instruments act as a direct impetus, a direct attractor, and an indirect influencer, respectively, jointly propelling the progression and development of poverty alleviation efforts. These three forces are not static but evolve over different stages of the developmental process, each concentrating on distinct policy targets and modes of poverty management. This study’s central inquiry examines the focal points and attributes of supply-side, demand-side, and environment-side policy instruments throughout China’s rural anti-poverty endeavors.

Schematic illustration of the impact of policy instruments on pro-poor development.

Research methodology

This study employs content analysis to categorize and distill policy texts regarding rural poverty governance in China. Content analysis is a scientific research method that objectively describes observable phenomena and can handle massive amounts of data over extended periods (Riffe et al., 2019 ). Based on specific statistical principles, content analysis can be employed for any type of text, such as policy documents, sounds, images, and videos (Drisko and Maschi, 2016 ). To conduct content analysis, the following vital steps must be followed: defining the study purposes, identifying the unit or sample to be analyzed, determining the categories to be analyzed, identifying and coding the coding elements, testing for reliability, and analyzing and interpreting the results. Policy documents contain explicit content with multiple dimensions and valuable information. The central Government of China holds absolute authority and leadership. Its policies are highly targeted, allowing effective regulation and management of economic and social development and safeguarding people’s well-being. Therefore, we applied the content analysis method to thoroughly analyze 762 anti-poverty policy texts. Through this analysis, we examined the development of China’s anti-poverty policies from three dimensions: policy initiation time, policy targets, and policy instruments.

With the help of NVivo12 software, this paper classified 762 pro-poor policy texts into quantifiable textual analysis units according to the three-level coding principle of “policy text period—type of policy instruments—specific policy content.” According to the type of instruments and the temporal order of the policy, the analysis unit of this paper is coded, and each code is categorized according to the feature words corresponding to the nodes to analyze the use of different policy instruments in terms of the frequency of use of policy instruments. Where “A, B, C” in the code represents the policy instruments type, “1, 2, 3” represents the policy period, and “a, b, c, d” represents the specific policy content. For instance, the document “A-1-d” includes details about the supply-side policy instrument in the “Notice on the National Poverty Alleviation Program of 1987,” released in 1994. The specific policy instruments reference point is “With the support of the state, develop and utilize local resources, develop raw material production, and rely on scientific and technological progress to provide production impetus for the masses to escape from poverty.” Then, following the policy instruments framework, each textual analysis unit is analyzed, and finally, each textual analysis unit is categorized into the corresponding policy instruments (see Table 1 ).

Another coder examined the policy text’s credibility to ensure the study’s validity and reliability. Both parties agreed on disputed issues to establish coding guidelines. The author then recoded for robustness in reverse policy text order, resulting in a final Kappa coefficient of 0.875 (>0.81), indicating high reliability and validity (Richard, 1977 ).

Policy text analysis

Time dimension analysis.

This paper delineates the various stages of policy evolution through a quantitative analysis of 762 policy documents and a comprehensive interpretation of the keywords within these texts. Furthermore, it offers a specific examination of the characteristics of anti-poverty policy evolution at different junctures. It sheds light on the trajectory of the Chinese Government’s efforts in poverty alleviation.

As Fig. 3 illustrates, from 1984 to 2022, there has been a discernible upward trend in introducing anti-poverty policies in rural China, with an exceptionally remarkable surge in recent years. Notably, the number of anti-poverty policies exhibited three peaks in 2000, 2013, and 2018, and the disparity in the number of policies before and after these peaks is quite substantial.

The trends in the distribution of the introduction time of anti-poverty policies in China.

In consideration of the actual context of rural poverty governance and the pivotal time points highlighted in the previous analysis, this paper categorizes the evolution of China’s anti-poverty policy into the following four distinct stages:

The first stage (1984–2000) is characterized as the “Regional Development-Side Poverty Alleviation” phase. During this period, the Chinese Government embarked on large-scale, organized, and meticulously planned rural poverty alleviation and development initiatives in impoverished rural areas. This approach to poverty alleviation was underpinned by a regional development strategy, marking the Government’s proactive involvement in addressing poverty. For instance, in 1986, the Central Government convened the inaugural national conference on poverty alleviation, setting forth the ambitious goal of achieving “Eighty-seven Years of Poverty Alleviation and Attack,” aiming to resolve the fundamental subsistence challenges of 80 million impoverished rural residents by 1990. In 1994, the Central Government issued the first national poverty alleviation and development program, the “National Plan for Poverty Alleviation in 1987.” This program emphasized the importance of focusing on impoverished counties that required assistance. It introduced the concentration of resources and the mobilization of social efforts to ensure the effective implementation of poverty alleviation programs. 109 relevant documents were introduced during this stage, all aimed at achieving the fundamental resolution of subsistence issues for impoverished rural households by 2000.

The second stage (2001–2012) is the “Comprehensive Poverty Alleviation” phase. During this stage, poverty alleviation efforts moved in a more diversified and sustainable direction. The focus of poverty alleviation policies shifted from poor districts to poor villages, and the approach to poverty alleviation transitioned from a “blood transfusion” approach to a “blood-creation” approach, gradually forming a government-led poverty alleviation model with the active participation of many parties. The goal is to empower poor individuals to escape from poverty through the development of industries and skills training. Key measures include implementing industrialized poverty alleviation policies, supporting and nurturing leading enterprises, and enhancing the agricultural industry’s added value to enable people experiencing poverty to improve their economic situation. Key policy documents during this stage included: In 2001, the Central Government issued the “Outline of Poverty Alleviation and Development in Rural China (2001–2010),” which provided a comprehensive framework for poverty alleviation and development in the new era. In 2007, the State Council issued the “Circular on the Establishment of a Rural Minimum Livelihood Security System throughout the country,” effectively addressing the challenges faced by impoverished individuals in rural areas. In particular, the number of complementary policies increased significantly with the establishment of the Rural Subsistence Security System in 2007, providing security for poor rural families.”. During this period, the number of pro-poor policies reached 224.

The third stage (2013–2020) is characterized as the “Precise Poverty Alleviation” phase. In 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping introduced the pivotal concept of precise poverty alleviation, which marked a transformative moment in China’s poverty alleviation efforts. This concept catalyzed the introduction of top-level designs and complementary poverty alleviation policies, resulting in minor fluctuations in the number of policies before and after 2013. The advent of precise poverty alleviation strategies brought about significant changes, elevating anti-poverty initiatives to a strategic level. For instance, In 2015, the central Government articulated the general requirements for poverty alleviation targets. In 2017, the introduction of the rural revitalization strategy elevated the “three rural areas” issue to a top priority for the entire party. In 2018, designated as the year of poverty alleviation, China implemented a series of targeted measures to combat corruption and formalism in poverty alleviation. In the same year, the Government issued the “Opinions on the Implementation of the Rural Revitalization Strategy” and the “Strategic Plan for Rural Revitalization (2018–2022)” aimed at rejuvenating the countryside and addressing deep poverty. It led to a significant increase in anti-poverty policies in rural areas in 2018, accelerating the implementation of policies in deeply impoverished regions. In 2019, “Two no worries and three guarantees” became a central focal point of poverty alleviation and development, with targets set to ensure that poor households would be lifted out of poverty by 2020 and address regional poverty comprehensively. Overall, policies during this phase experienced explosive growth, reaching 429. It is noteworthy that demand-side instruments began to proliferate during this stage.

The fourth and current phase (2021-) is the “Relative Poverty Governance” phase. In this stage, the approach to poverty governance transforms, focusing on consolidating absolute poverty governance’s effectiveness and addressing the issue of relative poverty. Given that this phase is still in its exploratory stage, this chapter will not delve into it extensively, and the governance outlook will be presented in the discussion section.

The preceding analysis outlines the progression of China’s policies to alleviate poverty and offers an interpretation of the Government’s initiatives within their contextual framework. The following section presents a categorization and evolutionary analysis of poverty alleviation policies by measuring high-frequency keywords extracted from Chinese rural poverty alleviation policy texts.

Based on an analysis of the stages of evolution of rural poverty alleviation policies in China, this study conducts a quantitative analysis of high-frequency keywords in China’s rural poverty alleviation policy texts to assess the development stages of these policies (see Table 2 ). The results show that terms such as “economy,” “finance,” and “funds” reflect the core principle of poverty alleviation, which revolves around bolstering economic growth in impoverished areas with the backing of government financial resources.

Combined with the time dimension, the terms “education,” “agriculture,” “training,” and “ethnic minorities” appear frequently between 1984 and 2000. It also reflects the Government’s focus on the crucial role of education in poverty alleviation, especially among ethnic minorities. High-frequency terms such as “development,” “impoverished villages,” “health,” and “pilot project” between 2001 and 2012 indicate that poverty alleviation efforts during this period focused on economic and social progress in impoverished rural areas, with a particular emphasis on the provision of essential public services and support mechanisms for disabled groups. 2013 During the period from 2013 to 2022, keywords such as “precision,” “file-listing card,” “plantation industry,” and “urban-rural integration” emphasize the transition to integrated urban-rural development. This stage emphasizes the development of the plantation industry to increase farmers’ income, thus driving people experiencing poverty to diversify their employment opportunities and increase their income through industrialization methods such as plantation. “Evaluation” also implies that local governments are beginning to pay attention to the effects of poverty alleviation and aim to strengthen monitoring.

In summary, it is evident that the emphasis on poverty alleviation endeavors has shifted over time, and this dynamic highlights the critical role of the various phases of poverty alleviation efforts in shaping the differences in the number and effectiveness of policies.

Policy targets dimension analysis

Policy targets represent the intended purposes and outcomes that policy implementation seeks to attain. The statistical analysis of 762 policy documents in this study reveals that China’s poverty alleviation policy targets can be broadly categorized into three primary groups: economic development, service support, and capacity building. As depicted in Fig. 4 , there are notable distinctions in the distribution characteristics of these three policy targets across different stages.

Nodal distribution of policy targets for rural poverty reduction in China.

First, policy nodes targeting the achievement of “economic development” targets were the most prevalent, constituting 76.07% of the total anti-poverty policy nodes. The number of policy nodes in the first, second, and third phases amounted to 186, 1,510, and 2,414, respectively, with the second and third phases experiencing significant expansion. This phenomenon can be primarily attributed to China’s poverty alleviation policies following a productivity approach (Holliday, 2000 ), which views wealth creation as a form of welfare and economic growth as a means of social security. In a context of absolute poverty, characterized by underdeveloped rural areas with weaker infrastructure than urban regions and an increasing urban-rural economic divide, the Government seeks to address poverty through the trickle-down effect of economic growth. Government pro-poor policies aimed at achieving the “economic development” goal include the construction of roads in impoverished areas, bolstering information infrastructure, supporting the agricultural industry, and implementing policies to aid and benefit the rural sector. Policies such as the “four exemptions and four subsidies” fall under this category, aiming to enhance the well-being of impoverished farmers through rural economic development, ultimately resulting in improved living conditions for these individuals.

Second, policy nodes aimed at achieving the “service support” goal constitute less than 20% of the total anti-poverty policy nodes. The number of policy nodes in the first, second, and third phases is 146, 375, and 514, respectively, indicating a consistent upward trend. China’s rural anti-poverty efforts encompass the ongoing enhancement of various support systems, with the Government introducing a series of policies to alleviate poverty in rural areas. Government-led poverty alleviation policies to attain the “service support” goal include establishing a minimum subsistence guarantee system for rural areas. The formulation of a policy regarding subsidies for individuals with disabilities. The deployment of first secretaries to assist in poverty alleviation efforts. The provision of care services for individuals with disabilities. Extending additional financial aid and tax incentives to households with established records. The promotion of volunteerism and the engagement of social organizations in anti-poverty initiatives. These initiatives collectively contribute to providing essential services and support to impoverished populations.

Third, policy nodes that aim to achieve the “capacity building” goal constitute less than 5% of the overall anti-poverty policy nodes. The number of policy nodes in the first, second, and third phases is 11, 46, and 201, respectively, displaying a modest upward trend. This phenomenon can be linked to China’s prevalent government-led nature of rural anti-poverty efforts. Especially in the initial stage, the Government adopted a “blood transfusion” approach to poverty alleviation, investing significant resources in impoverished villages to address basic subsistence needs while neglecting impoverished groups’ capacity building. As subsistence needs were addressed, in the second and third stages, the Government started paying more attention to enhancing the abilities of poor households to overcome poverty. Anti-poverty policies shifted towards a “blood-creation” approach; diversifying poverty alleviation methods aimed at stimulating the intrinsic motivation of impoverished groups. These methods encompassed training, management, education, and agricultural development. The goal was to boost the motivation of impoverished households to combat poverty actively. For example, initiatives like the industry-university-research model, promoting collaboration between universities and industries in sectors such as tourism and agriculture, have been employed to enhance the skills of impoverished households. Additionally, in the 2016 Circular of the State Council on the Issuance of the 13th Five-Year Poverty Alleviation Plan, the “Thousand Schools Action for Skills Poverty Alleviation” was introduced. This initiative aimed to provide impoverished individuals with the capacity and willingness to undergo vocational training, enabling them to secure employment opportunities.

Policy instruments dimension analysis

Policy instruments represent the means to attain policy targets or address societal issues. As illustrated in Fig. 5 , during the first stage, there is a substantial difference in the frequency of use of various policy instruments. Supply-side policy instruments are the most commonly used, accounting for 71.85%, followed by environmental-side policy instruments at 19.54%. Demand-side policy instruments are the least frequently employed, constituting only 8.61%. There are noteworthy shifts in utilizing these policy instruments in the second and third stages. The proportion of supply-side policy instruments exhibits a substantial decline, while the proportion of demand-side policy instruments shows a pronounced increase. The share of environmental-side policy instruments peaked during the second stage but continues to exhibit an upward trend.

Evolutionary trend of policy instrument nodes for rural poverty governance in China.

In this study, China’s rural poverty alleviation policy instruments have been counted, and their evolutionary trends and quantitative distribution are presented in Table 3 .

The results presented in Table 3 indicate 3235 nodes of supply-side policy instruments. Among these, the proportion of secondary nodes, in descending order, is as follows: infrastructure construction (39.41%), Financial inputs (31.66%), talent training (18.42%), and information services (10.51%). A Chinese proverb says, “To get rich, we must first build roads.” It is reflected in the frequent utilization of infrastructure construction and capital investment as supply-side policy instruments. The Government vigorously promotes the development of electricity, road networks, and other public facilities in impoverished areas through various agricultural funds and infrastructure guarantee funds. For instance, the 2018 Measures for the Management of Funds for Supporting Poverty Eradication in Poor Old Revolutionary Areas, supported by the Central Special Lottery Public Welfare Funds, highlights the backing for the construction of farmland, water conservancy facilities, and photovoltaic power stations, among other infrastructure in impoverished old revolutionary areas. This strategy aims to enhance the efficiency of fund utilization. However, excessive financial inputs may inadvertently encourage dependency among the impoverished population, making it challenging for them to become self-reliant and leading to increased reliance on welfare programs. It can hinder the development potential of people with low incomes. In contrast, talent training and information services have been used less frequently as supply-side policy instruments. It suggests that there is room for improvement in areas such as skills training, vocational education, and the provision of information services, particularly in regions with ethnic minorities and remote areas.

The results in Table 3 reveal 2471 nodes related to environment-side policy instruments. Among these, the secondary nodes, in descending order, are as follows: tax incentives (37.51%), target planning (36.02%), guiding publicity (19.87%), and regulatory control (6.60%). These specific measures appear clustered and polarized within environment-side policy instruments, focusing on strategic guidance for poverty alleviation through implementing tax incentives, transfer subsidies, establishing development plans, and updating work guidelines. Given poverty alleviation’s multifaceted and complex nature, which necessitates comprehensive institutional arrangements and strategic planning, goal planning is frequently employed within environment-side policy instruments. In China, intricate organizational relationships and networks exist, requiring constant coordination of targets and expectations among various actors. Typically, central targets provide guidance and planning, while local governments establish locally tailored targets based on their preferences and capacity for action. While advocacy guidance and regulatory control are less commonly used among environment-side policy instruments, it is crucial to emphasize advocacy and guidance in poverty alleviation efforts and to strengthen the rule of law and regulation within anti-poverty actions.

The results in Table 3 indicate 1202 nodes associated with demand-side policy instruments. Among these, the secondary nodes, in descending order, are as follows: market shaping (44.18%), collaborative exchanges (34.28%), services outsourcing (11.06%), and government purchase (10.48%). Demand-side policy instruments directly address the basic needs of impoverished households and provide them with more opportunities and resources. These instruments stimulate market demand and contribute to efforts to alleviate poverty. The rise of welfare pluralism has facilitated a shift from a model dominated by the “welfare state” to a “welfare society,” emphasizing the participation of multiple actors, including the market, NGOs, communities, and families, in meeting people’s welfare needs (Gilbert, 2000 ). China’s social security system has become more complex (Lu et al., 2013 ), aligning with this concept. The reform of China’s social security system also adheres to this idea, and demand-side policy instruments represent a critical step toward achieving this target. However, the frequency of using demand-side policy instruments is not exceptionally high, especially in the case of service outsourcing and government purchases, which remain at relatively low levels. This situation may hinder the transformation of the state’s role in addressing poverty-related issues.

In general, China’s anti-poverty initiatives have established a government-led policy implementation mechanism marked by a high degree of promotion. The execution of poverty alleviation policies primarily follows a top-down supply-side approach led by the Government, complemented by environmental support. This approach underscores that addressing rural poverty primarily relies on the impetus generated by government-led supply-side policy instruments and external support from environmental policy instruments. In contrast, the pull created by demand-side policy instruments is notably insufficient.

In summary, when it comes to policy targets, central-level poverty alleviation policies have primarily emphasized enhancing infrastructure construction and promoting economic development in impoverished regions. Conversely, policy targets related to service support and capacity building have not received sufficient attention from the Government. On the one hand, China’s predominant feature of poverty governance remains government-led. This governance model has evolved since 1984, with initiatives driven from the top-down by the central Government. Regional economic development delegates the task of poverty reduction to grassroots governments, connecting poverty governance with local economic development to create a “trickle-down effect.” The central Government utilizes incentives and assessment measures to motivate grassroots governments to achieve poverty reduction targets, granting them decision-making and deployment authority, along with inspection and evaluation powers. Ideally, this economic development-driven “trickle-down effect” should lead to income growth for people experiencing poverty.

On the other hand, the “polarization effect” of economic development has widened income inequality. At this stage, the marginal effect of relying solely on economic development for poverty reduction has diminished, making it increasingly challenging to achieve comprehensive poverty alleviation through economic development alone. As poverty alleviation governance continues to evolve, China’s approach to supporting people experiencing poverty has diversified, shifting from providing funds, materials, and food to raising the incomes of people experiencing poverty, enhancing the social security system, and bolstering human capital. The discussion above suggests that China should give more attention to policy targets related to service support and capacity building.

Regarding policy instruments, it is evident that demand-side policy instruments are falling behind, potentially resulting in a skewed implementation of pro-poor policies. In the future, the Chinese Government should develop a more comprehensive set of demand-side policy instruments to provide additional impetus for poverty governance. Furthermore, flexible policy instruments such as government purchasing, collaborative exchanges, and guiding publicity are being underutilized. This underuse could lead to inadequate market, social, and public involvement in poverty alleviation. It also reflects that the Chinese Government’s approach to poverty alleviation governance has not entirely shifted from a coercive method to an endogenous drive. While government-led poverty alleviation effectively mobilizes resources and integrates efforts, it may not be conducive to establishing a long-term mechanism. It could result in dependence on poverty alleviation funds among those in need, creating a form of dependency that is more challenging to address. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that the Chinese Government has created a favorable policy environment, encouraged active participation from social organizations in poverty alleviation and development, and promoted endogenous motivation among impoverished groups. It is evident in the gradual increase in demand- and environment-side policy instruments.

Economic development often relies on state intervention when resources are scarce, resulting in a “government-led development” economic system (Oqubay and Lin, 2020 ). In China, where industrialization occurred relatively late, the Government played a crucial role in combating absolute poverty by implementing numerous supply-side policy instruments, leading to significant achievements. Regarding social policy expenditures, China’s government spending on social policies as a proportion of the Gross National Product (GNP) has approached the standards in developed countries. However, the continued growth of China’s social policy expenditures, particularly the high implementation of supply-side social policies designed to serve economic development, highlights the need to utilize policy instruments efficiently. It includes harnessing the pulling power of demand-side policy instruments and the driving force of environmental policy instruments to achieve sustainable development. In the phase of relative poverty governance, it is crucial to ensure that policy instruments, while still supporting economic development, are not solely used for redistribution but also focus on promoting equitable distribution. This emphasis should prioritize the targets of service support and capacity building, as neglecting them may hinder the resolution of relative poverty issues.

From absolute to relative poverty: an explanatory framework of “path dependency-institutional change”

Path dependence describes how past choices can have a lasting impact on the present and future, similar to the idea of “inertia” in physics, where once a particular path is chosen, it tends to be followed and maintained. David, an early proponent of the concept, was the first to apply it to the analysis of technological change. Arthur ( 1989 ) defined path dependence as the inability to deviate from a particular trajectory in a dynamic economic process. In other words, if different historical events and their developmental sequences cannot lead to the same market outcome with 100% certainty in a dynamic economic system, that system is path-dependent. Building on the ideas of David and Arthur, North integrated path dependence theory into the institutional analysis framework, giving rise to the path dependence theory of institutional change. Within established institutions and mechanisms, there are typically two possibilities for progressing (Pinch and Bijker, 1984 ). One is to maintain the existing system, even if it may be inefficient. The other is to create a new system. Path dependence and path creation are intertwined and complementary, and both play a role in driving the process of institutional change (Garud et al., 2010 ).

This paper highlights that the effectiveness of addressing absolute poverty is characterized by a “short-term, quick” approach (Wan et al., 2021 ) while addressing relative poverty requires establishing long-term mechanisms. Currently, China’s poverty alleviation efforts face several challenges, including a heavy reliance on rural support resources, significant multidimensional relative poverty in both urban and rural areas, and a lack of internal motivation in impoverished regions (Liu et al., 2017 ), which presents obstacles to effective poverty governance. In this new era of poverty governance, there is an urgent need for a strategic perspective, with the central Government taking a leading role in systemic coordination through top-level design to ensure the orderly progress of poverty governance. To better analyze poverty governance policy instruments, this study introduces North’s path dependence theory (North, 1990 ), treating poverty governance policy instruments as the evolution of institutional arrangements. It also considers other institutional factors and their impact on the poverty governance system, examining the evolution of poverty governance policy instruments through path dependence.

According to North’s theory, path dependence is primarily driven by the “limited rationality” of institutional actors and the high transaction costs of interest groups, influenced by political and economic constraints, as well as informal systems like culture (North, 1997 ). In poverty governance, when policy instruments such as “blood transfusion” and “development-side” approaches are frequently employed and deliver significant results, they become entrenched and even strengthened by vested interest groups. These policy instruments and the enduring influence of informal systems like the culture of poverty that aligns with absolute poverty gradually form multiple dependencies in the poverty governance process.

After eliminating absolute poverty, the Government seeks to consolidate the gains by maintaining the stability of existing policies and systems. It introduces institutional arrangements such as dynamic monitoring mechanisms and measures to prevent a return to poverty. It also strengthens the linkage between poverty eradication outcomes and rural revitalization. Simultaneously, as China enters the phase of relative poverty governance, the Government initiates innovations and expansions in the poverty governance system. It proposes creating a long-term mechanism for addressing relative poverty and modernizing the goal of achieving shared prosperity among all citizens. Through promoting and implementing government policies and systems, relative poverty governance gradually breaks through the closed environment and the lack of internal motivation characteristic of the original poverty governance. However, breaking the original multiple dependence paths takes time and involves a co-evolutionary process of new policies and the existing system. During this period, innovation and expansion of new policies coexist with stabilizing old policies, leading to path divergence. The system subjects consciously guide decision-making to challenge the old institutional arrangements. The Government continuously adjusts, optimizes, and constructs an ideal path for relative poverty governance. Its leading decision-making behavior drives the system’s transition from path divergence to path innovation, comprehensively replacing the old policy instruments for poverty governance and shaping the policy instruments for relative poverty governance.

Based on the above theoretical analysis, this paper constructed an analytical map of the evolution of the path of poverty governance (see Fig. 6 ).

Poverty governance pathway.

Conclusion and policy implications

In the context of poverty governance in China, the achievement of short-term poverty alleviation goals has been driven by a pressure-based system, characterized by centralized decision-making and strong administrative mobilization carried out by the central government. This has been facilitated through significant investments, major projects, and large-scale mobilization efforts. However, the predominant focus of poverty alleviation has been on income enhancement, with inadequate emphasis placed on fostering internal motivation and facilitating access to education to build aspirations for the impoverished. Consequently, there is an overreliance on supply-based policy instruments, leading to potential challenges in sustaining the effectiveness of this approach.

To achieve meaningful and sustainable poverty reduction, it is necessary to continuously optimize coordination among various stakeholders such as government, political cadres, and local enterprises. Looking at the development stages of poverty alleviation governance practices in rural China, the central government has consistently taken the lead in rural anti-poverty efforts at each stage. However, due to significant variations in the outcomes of nationwide policies among different regions, especially after entering the comprehensive poverty alleviation stage, the actions and preferences of political cadres have a more pronounced impact on local poverty outcomes (Deng, 2023 ; Liu and Liu, 2022 ). After transitioning to the precise poverty alleviation stage, the role of local enterprises has also been actively mobilized, participating in the national strategy of “industry-based poverty alleviation” to precisely assist impoverished rural areas, further harnessing the power of the market and society.

Moreover, it requires a precise synergy among multiple policy instruments based on both supply-based, demand-based, and environment-based approaches, aiming to foster comprehensive rural revitalization. This requires strategic allocation of resources and organizational coordination, centered upon a cohesive foundation, and dynamically integrated with the moral and cultural aspects. By doing so, it becomes possible to forge collective efforts in the governance of relative poverty. Ultimately, the collaborative model of poverty governance entails practical processes encompassing diverse resource allocation methods and balanced utilization of various policy instruments. Naturally, dynamic coordination among government, market, and societal actors, as well as the effective integration of supply-based, demand-based, and environment-based policy instruments, necessitate continuous exploration and innovative governance practices that are adaptable to local conditions, circumstances, and trends.

Policy implications

The poverty governance policy instrument facilitates the translation of national-level poverty governance policies into actionable directives implemented at the local government level. The strategic alignment of this policy instrument empowers local governments to establish a practical policy framework for impoverished areas. This framework helps bridge the gap between government supply and the needs of impoverished areas and households. It also promotes synchronization in the poverty governance policy system concerning supply and demand quality, quantity, and structure, ultimately facilitating poverty alleviation and prosperity. The interplay between government resource allocation and the needs of impoverished regions characterizes the process of implementing poverty alleviation policies. It involves the direct influence of government macro-control and the indirect impact of market forces on the poverty alleviation environment. Therefore, based on an overview of the evolution of policies in the period of absolute poverty governance and consideration of the path dependence theory, this study argues that the following points should be considered in the implementation of policies for the governance of relative poverty:

First, adhere to the evolutionary principles of poverty governance policies, emphasizing the sustainable development of poverty reduction and enhancing the relative poverty governance system. A comprehensive policy cycle comprises policy formulation, government-led policy implementation, evaluation, monitoring, and policy adjustment for optimization. Relative poverty governance is a lengthy and intricate endeavor. The Government should approach it from the policy cycle standpoint, formalize poverty governance in policy formulation, adhere to legal principles in relative poverty governance, enhance system precision, and boost resilience. Incorporating third-party evaluation entities and amplifying social oversight in assessing local government policy implementation will elevate public participation and voice, safeguarding people’s right to express their views. Reinforce the policy leadership in poverty governance, aligning it with the various stages of relative poverty governance. Adjust governance policies to harmonize with the evolving needs of each stage in relative poverty governance. Employ laws, regulations, and specific policies to effectively regulate and guide each stage.

Second, Strengthen the policy coherence and alignment in the governance of relative poverty. Relative poverty governance represents a holistic progression and advancement beyond absolute poverty eradication, focusing on establishing a sustainable mechanism for addressing relative poverty and comprehensively mitigating the multifaceted challenges of rural poverty. In the phase of absolute poverty governance, the utilization of policy instruments displayed fluctuations, imbalances, and path dependencies. Consequently, tailored adaptations are implemented during the relative poverty governance to utilize specific policy instruments across diverse dimensions to address deficiencies in rights, capabilities, and incentives. This strategy aims to achieve alignment with the policy targets of relative poverty governance.

Third, Enhance the coordinated management of policy instruments and refine the application system. In relative poverty governance, it is vital to focus on the effective deployment and integration of policy instruments that align with the specific attributes of relative poverty. Initially, optimization of supply-side policy instruments is essential. The Government should elevate the utilization of talent development, information services, and public services, thereby enhancing the quality of fundamental public services in rural regions. Additionally, actively promoting the digital industry and facilitating information resource exchange and vocational skills training for farmers are crucial measures. Second, intensifying the utilization of demand-side policy instruments is imperative. Expanding the Government’s procurement scope and leveraging the market’s potential is crucial. Cultivating a mechanism for the involvement of multiple stakeholders in poverty governance, enhancing collaboration among various actors, and attracting social organizations, businesses, and individuals to participate in service outsourcing, thereby compensating for governmental limitations, are essential steps. Finally, it is crucial to capitalize on the guiding potential of environment-side policy instruments. Enhancing related laws and regulations, fostering innovation in financial support, boosting tax incentives, strengthening capacity development, and nurturing farmers’ intrinsic motivation for poverty alleviation and prosperity through effective communication and guidance is vital. This approach aims to foster a conducive environment for poverty governance.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from https://home.pkulaw.com . However, restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study and are not publicly available. Data are available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission from the Beida Faber-China Laws and Regulations Database.

National Bureau of Statistics: http://www.stats.gov.cn .

Arsani AM, Ario B, Ramadhan AF (2020) Impact of education on poverty and health: evidence from Indonesia. Econ Dev Anal J 9(1):87–96

Article   Google Scholar  

Arthur WB (1989) Competing technologies, increasing returns, and lock-in by historical events. Econ J 99(394):116–131

Cheng Q, Yang J(2023) Allocation and evolution of government attention in China’s electric power industry: an analysis based on policy text Sustain 15(16):12479

Cross J, Neumark T (2021) Solar power and its discontents: critiquing off‐grid infrastructures of inclusion in East Africa. Dev Change 52(4):902–926

Dahl RA, Lindblom CE (1953) Politics, economics and welfare: planning and politico-economic systems, resolved into basic processes. Harper & Brothers New York

Deepika M, Sigi M (2014) Financial inclusion and poverty alleviation: an alternative state-led microfinance model of Kudumbashree in Kerala, India. Enterp D Microfinanc 25(4):327–340

Deng J (2023) Born to be different: the role of local political leaders in poverty reduction in China. China Econ. Rev. 78:101939

Deng S (2019) Breaking the cycle: an asset-based family intervention for poverty alleviation in China. Asia Pac J Soc Work 29(1):82–94

Drisko JW, Maschi T (2016) Content analysis. Oxford University Press, USA

Dylander B (1980) Technology assessment: as science and as a instrument for policy. Acta Sociol 23(4):217–237

Google Scholar  

Eisinger PK, (1988) The rise of the entrepreneurial state: state and local economic development policy in the United States. Univ of Wisconsin Press

Garud R, Kumaraswamy A, Karnøe P (2010) Path dependence or path creation? J Manag Stud 47(4):760–774

Gilbert N (2000) Welfare pluralism and social policy. Handbook of policy. thousand oaks, CA:Sage Publications, pp. 411–420

Guo Y, Wang J (2021) Poverty alleviation through labor transfer in rural China: evidence from Hualong county. Habitat Int 116:102402

Hagenaars AJ (2014) The perception of poverty. Elsevier

Holliday I (2000) Productivist welfare capitalism: social policy in East Asia. Polit Stud Lond 48(4):706–723

Hong M, Chen S, Zhang K (2021) Impact of the “low-carbon city pilot” policy on energy intensity based on the empirical evidence of Chinese cities. Front Env Sci Switz 9:717737

Howlett M, Ramesh M, Perl A (1995) Studying public policy: policy cycles and policy subsystems. Oxford University Press, Toronto

Hughes OE (2017) Public management and administration. Bloomsbury Publishing

Jiang M, Paudel KP, Zou F (2020) Do microcredit loans do what they are intended to do? A case study of the credit village microcredit programme in China. J. Int Dev 32(5):763–792

Kooiman J, Jentoft S (2009) Meta‐governance: values, norms and principles, and the making of hard choices. Public Admin 87(4):818–836

Li F, Zhang J, Li X (2023) Energy security dilemma and energy transition policy in the context of climate change: a perspective from China. Energ Policy 181:113624

Liao Z (2018) Content analysis of China’s environmental policy instruments on promoting firms’ environmental innovation. Environ Sci Policy 88:46–51

Lister R (2021) Poverty. John Wiley & Sons

Liu W, Li J, Zhao R (2023) The effects of rural education on poverty in China: a spatial econometric perspective. J Asia Pac Econ 28(1):176–198

Article   MathSciNet   Google Scholar  

Liu Y, Liu J, Zhou Y (2017) Spatio-temporal patterns of rural poverty in China and targeted poverty alleviation strategies. J Rural Stud 52:66–75

Liu Z, Liu L (2022) Cooptating the new elites. China Rev 22(3):271–296

MathSciNet   Google Scholar  

Lu S, Lin YT, Vikse JH, Huang CC (2013) Effectiveness of social welfare programmes on poverty reduction and income inequality in China. J Asian Public Polic. 6(3):277–291

Mariara JK, Kiriti TW (2020) Structural adjustment, poverty and economic growth: An analysis for Kenya, AERC

Mugo M, Kilonzo E (2017) Community–level impacts of financial inclusion in Kenya with particular focus on poverty eradication and employment creation. Cent Bank Kenya 13:1–7

North DC (1990) Institutions, institutional change, and economic performance. Cambridge Univ. Press

North DC (1997) The contribution of the new institutional economics to an understanding of the transition problem. WIDER Annual Lectures, 1//The United Nations University. World Institute for Development Economics Research/WIDER, Helsinki, pp. 134–139

Oqubay A, Lin JY (2020) Industrial hubs and economic development. The Oxford Handbook of Industrial Hubs and Economic Development, 15

Page L, Pande R (2018) Ending global poverty: why money isn’t enough. J Econ Perspect 32(4):173–200

Peters BG (2020) The problem of policy problems. In: Theory and methods in comparative policy analysis studies. Routledge. pp. 59–80

Pinch TJ, Bijker WE (1984) The social construction of facts and artefacts: or how the sociology of science and the sociology of technology might benefit each other. Soc Stud Sci 14(3):399–441

Poverty O Human Development Initiative (2018) Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2018: the most detailed picture to date of the world’s poorest people. Univ of Oxford, UK

Qin Q, Youhai S (2020) A study of China’s air pollution prevention and control policy framework from a policy instrument perspective. J Resour Ecol 11(2):182

Richard JL (1977) The measurement of observer agreements for categorical data. Biom 33:159–174

Riffe D, Lacy S, Fico F, Watson B (2019) Analyzing media messages: Using quantitative content analysis in research. Routledge

Rothwell R, Zegveld W (1984) An assessment of government innovation policies. Rev Policy Res 3(3‐4):436–444

Rowntree BS (1902) Poverty: a study of town life. Macmillan

Sen A (1982) Poverty and famines: an essay on entitlement and deprivation. Oxford University Press

Shao W, Yang K, Bai X (2021) Impact of financial subsidies on the R&D intensity of new energy vehicles: a case study of 88 listed enterprises in China. Energy Strateg Rev. 33:100580

Shen Y, Li S (2022) Eliminating poverty through development: The dynamic evolution of multidimensional poverty in rural China. Econ Polit Stud Eps 10(1):85–104

Song Y (2012) Poverty reduction in China: the contribution of popularizing primary education. China World Econ 20(1):105–122

Stoker G (2012) Governance as theory: five propositions[J]. Int Soc Sci J 50(155):17–28

The Commission on Global Governance (1995) Our global neighbourhood, Oxford University Press, Oxford

Townsend P (1979) Poverty in the United Kingdom: a survey of household resources and standards of living. Univ of California Press

Book   Google Scholar  

Wan G, Hu X, Liu W (2021) China’s poverty reduction miracle and relative poverty: focusing on the roles of growth and inequality. China Econ Rev 68:101643

Yang T, Xing C, Li X (2021) Evaluation and analysis of new-energy vehicle industry policies in the context of technical innovation in China. J Clean Prod 281:125126

Yang X, Cao X (2022) The poverty alleviation effect of public services and social development opportunities. Environ Soc Psychol 7(1)

Yue X, Mu K, Liu L (2020) Selection of policy instruments on integrated care in China: based on documents content analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health 17(7):2327

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Zhang G, Gao Y, Li J, Su B, Chen Z, Lin W (2022) China’s environmental policy intensity for 1978–2019. Sci Data 9(1):75

Zhang H, Xu Z, Sun C, Elahi E (2018) Targeted poverty alleviation using photovoltaic power: review of Chinese policies. Energ Policy 120:550–558

Zhou Y, Huang X, Shen Y, Tian L (2023) Does targeted poverty alleviation policy lead to happy life? Evidence from rural China. China Econ Rev81:102037

Zhou Y, Li Y, Xu C (2020) Land consolidation and rural revitalization in China: mechanisms and paths. Land Use Policy 91:104379

Download references

Acknowledgements

Sincere thanks Dr. Jiang for his support of this article. This paper was supported by the Shanghai Social Science Innovation Research Base of “Research on Transitional Sociology with Chinese Characteristics”, China Scholarship Council (Grant No. 202206140110), National Philosophy and Social Sciences Research Fund of China: Research on the causes of the phenomenon of digital “incapacitation” of the elderly and coping strategies (Grant No.23BSH090) and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission: Research on Improving Social Policies to Address Relative Urban Poverty (Grant No.2021-01-07-00-08-E00129).

Author information

These authors contributed equally: Yunhui Wang, Yihua Chen.

Authors and Affiliations

School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

Yunhui Wang

School of Social Development, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200041, China

Department of Global Development, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA

School of Public Administration And Policy, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan, China

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

YW contributed mainly to text writing, data analysis, and revisions. YC contributed primarily to guidance, revisions, and communications. ZL prepared materials, collected data, and formally analyzed them. All the authors discussed the results.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yihua Chen .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

Informed consent

Additional information.

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Wang, Y., Chen, Y. & Li, Z. Escaping poverty: changing characteristics of China’s rural poverty reduction policy and future trends. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 11 , 694 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03204-0

Download citation

Received : 28 June 2023

Accepted : 16 May 2024

Published : 30 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03204-0

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Latest at Reach

Catalyzing Changemakers at the University of Cape Town

The reach alliance.

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto

1 Devonshire Place, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3K7 Canada

General Inquiries

reachalliance.munk@utoronto.ca

Case Studies

The Reach Alliance is committed to being a prominent hub of inclusive knowledge production. We prioritize knowledge, knowers, and ways of knowing that have been traditionally disengaged and marginalized from ‘legitimate’ academic knowledge. We work with research collaborators to share findings with the global insight community, project implementers, those that contributed to the research, and those that can benefit from the research directly. We do so in ways that amplify the perspectives of those who have historically been left out or silenced in these discussions.

Academic Partner

Research Status

Research year.

Case Study India

Cutting Through the Grass Ceiling: Supporting Women Smallholder Farmers with the Collective Power of Community, Participatory Learning, and Trust

SDG 1 SDG 3 SDG 5 SDG 13

Case Study Rwanda

Increasing Meaningful Financial Inclusion in Rwanda: Community-Based Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies

SDG 10 SDG 1 SDG 8

Case Study Mexico

The “Kolombia Regia”: Social Vindication in the Face of Stigma and Violence in Monterrey

SDG 1 SDG 10 SDG 16 SDG 5

Case Study Chile

Empowering Chile’s Grassroots Recyclers: The Conecta, Recicla y Colabora Initiative

SDG 12 SDG 11 SDG 1 SDG 8

Case Study Colombia

Semillas de Apego: Nurturing Resilience in Colombia’s Youngest Amid Conflict and Displacement

SDG 11 SDG 16 SDG 1 SDG 3

Struggle and Resilience of Migrant Indigenous Communities in Irregular Settlements in Mexico

SDG 1 SDG 8 SDG 10 SDG 11

Expanding Access to Justice Through Community-Based Paralegals in New Delhi and Assam

SDG 1 SDG 5 SDG 8 SDG 10 SDG 16

Case Study Thailand

M Fund – a migrant micro insurance program

SDG 1 SDG 3 SDG 10

Case Study Kenya

Left Behind: The Socioeconomic Barriers to Last-Mile Mobile Money Access in Kenya

SDG 1 SDG 8 SDG 10

Providing Urban Amenities to Rural Areas: Addressing Rural Poverty in India

SDG 1 SDG 10

Case Study Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme: Addressing Food Insecurity with Food and Cash Transfers

SDG 1 SDG 2 SDG 10

Case Study Jordan

UNHCR Jordan’s Biometric Cash Assistance Program for Syrian Refugees

Case Studies Shed Light on Poverty in America

A new report from the Community Affairs offices of the Federal Reserve System and the Brookings Institution examines the issue of concentrated poverty.

The Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty in America: Case Studies from Communities Across the U.S. profiles 16 high-poverty communities, including immigrant gateway, Native American, urban and rural communities.

One of the case studies focuses on Holmes County, Miss., located in the district served by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. With a poverty rate that stood at more than 41 percent in 2000, Holmes County is both geographically and economically isolated. It has lost many jobs during past decades—and continues to do so.

The information collected on all the communities in this report contributes to an understanding of the dynamics of poor people living in poor communities and the policies that will be needed to bring both into the economic mainstream.

The report is available at www.stlouisfed.org/community_development/ .

Related Topics

Bridges is a regular review of regional community and economic development issues. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the St. Louis Fed or Federal Reserve System.

Media questions

All other community development questions

Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Full Topic List

Regions & Countries

Publications

• Our Methods
• Short Reads
• Tools & Resources

Read Our Research On:

Key facts about Asian Americans living in poverty

Burmese (19%) and Hmong Americans (17%) were among the Asian origin groups with the highest poverty rates in 2022.

1 in 10: Redefining the Asian American Dream (Short Film)

Of the 24 million Asians living in the United States, about 2.3 million live in poverty. This short film explores their diverse stories and experiences.

The Hardships and Dreams of Asian Americans Living in Poverty

About one-in-ten Asian Americans live in poverty. Pew Research Center conducted 18 focus groups in 12 languages to explore their stories and experiences.

Wealth Surged in the Pandemic, but Debt Endures for Poorer Black and Hispanic Families

About one-in-four Black households and one-in-seven Hispanic households had no wealth or were in debt in 2021, compared with about one-in-ten U.S. households overall.

What the data says about food stamps in the U.S.

The food stamp program is one of the larger federal social welfare initiatives, and in its current form has been around for nearly six decades.

Financial Issues Top the List of Reasons U.S. Adults Live in Multigenerational Homes

Nearly four-in-ten men ages 25 to 29 now live with older relatives.

Most Black Americans say they can meet basic needs financially, but many still experience economic insecurity

Fewer than half of Black adults say they have a three-month emergency fund, and some have taken multiple jobs to make ends meet.

One-in-Ten Black People Living in the U.S. Are Immigrants

Immigrants – particularly those from African nations – are a growing share of the U.S. Black population.

Most Americans support a $15 federal minimum wage

About six-in-ten Americans (62%) say they favor raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, including 40% who strongly back the idea.

In the pandemic, India’s middle class shrinks and poverty spreads while China sees smaller changes

The course of the pandemic in India and China will have a substantial effect on changes in the distribution of income at the global level.

REFINE YOUR SELECTION

Research teams.

1615 L St. NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 USA (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax (+1) 202-419-4372 |  Media Inquiries

Research Topics

• Email Newsletters

ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

© 2024 Pew Research Center

Blog Just transitions and the importance of social protection reforms for ambitious climate action

As it is crucial to consider the effects of climate change mitigation policies on various population groups, we explore two policy options —carbon pricing and removal of fossil fuel subsidies. In our latest microsimulation study , we model the impacts of these climate policies on poverty rates and inequality levels. Our study—conducted jointly by SASPRI, LSE, IDOS, and GIZ—also analyse which social protection reform options are most effective at offsetting the negative impacts for those likely to face downsides in low- and middle-income countries. 

What impact do climate change mitigation policies have on poverty and inequality?

Carbon pricing and the removal of fuel subsidies may negatively affect some people and vulnerable groups disproportionately. The main focus of our analysis is on carbon pricing in Ecuador, Indonesia, South Africa, Tanzania, Viet Nam, and Zambia. Carbon pricing is a globally considered mitigation measure with significant direct impacts on the financial situation of households. We also consider the removal of fuel subsidies in Indonesia, South Africa, and Zambia.

Key findings  

In Ecuador, South Africa, and Viet Nam, model simulations indicate that an introduction of carbon pricing disproportionately disadvantages people in the lower income/consumption quintiles. Compared to even a low carbon tax rate, the removal of fossil fuel subsidies leads to smaller relative changes in household purchasing power (measured as mean consumption), but also affects the poorest quintile the most in both Indonesia and South Africa. In Zambia, better off households feel more of the effects of fuel subsidy removal. This illustrate why social protection will be important to help mitigate againstthe regressive nature of climate policies, as illustrated in Figure 1. 

Source: Gasior et al. (2024: 30). 

Additional revenues from carbon pricing and subsidy removal can be used to expand social protection

Using the SOUTHMOD tax-benefit microsimulation models for Ecuador, Viet Nam, Tanzania, and Zambia,  SAMOD for South Africa, and  INDOMOD for Indonesia, we assess what would happen if revenue generated by climate policies is used to expand the existing social protection system to target vulnerable populations. We simulate three reform options: 

All three reform scenarios cushion the overall drop in mean income/consumption. While they lead to significant income/consumption increases at the bottom of the distribution across countries and reform scenarios, the same effects are not observed towards the top of the distribution. 

In four of the six countries (Ecuador, Indonesia, South Africa, and Viet Nam), the modelled social protection reforms not only cushion the shock of carbon pricing, but result in an overall reduction in the poverty headcount. In Tanzania and Zambia, the poverty headcount is not significantly reduced, because the revenue generated is too small to fill the gaps in the current social protection system.  

The generosity reform scenario

An increase in benefit amounts leads to a more significant reduction in poverty than an expansion of coverage in Ecuador, Indonesia, Viet Nam, and South Africa.  

When poverty is concentrated at the bottom of the distribution, the generosity scenario results in better cushioning effects for those in poverty than the other reforms considered. This is particularly notable in the case of Viet Nam.

However, increasing generosity for those currently covered by social assistance does not necessarily provide the best cushioning effects for those in the lower quintiles because the scale of the impact depends on how well the current social protection system covers those in need. 

The coverage reform scenario

Extending social protection coverage to more people can lead to better results for lower-income population groups, i.e., the lower quintiles in the income distribution.

In Zambia in particular, increasing coverage generates a higher relative increase in average incomes for people in the bottom quintile, by reducing coverage gaps in the current social protection system.

The categorical reform scenario

The introduction of a categorical benefit for vulnerable groups has a stabilising effect on income/consumption in most of the countries considered. This comes at the cost of smaller increases in average income/consumption for people in the lower quintiles, compared to the other two reform scenarios (except in South Africa and Ecuador).  

Categorical benefits for specific groups are an option for countries where poverty is not solely concentrated at the very bottom of the income/consumption distribution but affects a large proportion of the population, such as Tanzania and Zambia, with potentially easier administration.

Our study highlights that the reform impact notably depends on the following, e.g.:

Fiscal space may also be needed to strengthen the functionality of the social protection system, by investing in infrastructure (data and information, delivery mechanisms, physical and staff capacities, etc.).  

What are the policy recommendations emerging from the study?

Social protection is a key policy area to complement climate change mitigation and achieve a just transition. Effective social protection systems can enable more ambitious climate action and sustain public support for it. Research shows that climate change mitigation policies are more likely to be supported if the revenue is used to support and protect populations groups (likely to be) affected (Dabla-Norris et al., 2023). Policymakers should understand how the existing social protection system works and what its limitations are to better guide social protection reform(s). Reforms need to consider the current poverty situation, fiscal space, the size of the national carbon footprint, and the current capacity of the existing social protection system.

Social protection policies need to be planned well in advance as part of a just transition package. In this way, social protection can alleviate, or even avoid, the negative socio-economic effects of climate change mitigation policies on, especially, vulnerable people and those already living in poverty. Options at the global level, e.g., a global carbon tax, are likely to have a much stronger impact on poverty reduction than national-level carbon pricing in the Global South.

Learn more about which social protection reforms may be most suitable for your country contexts in the full study .

Christina Dankmeyer is Advisor Just Transition and Social Protection Financing at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Katrin Gasior is Senior Research Fellow at Southern African Social Policy Research Insights (SASPRI).

Gemma Wright is co-Executive Director of Southern African Social Policy Research Insights (SASPRI).

The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Institute or the United Nations University, nor the programme/project donors.

• Climate change
• Microsimulation

Case Study: Living In Poverty

Thanks to Brian Page of Reading High School in Reading, Ohio for this guest submission. Brian pointed out this "Cliff Effect" problem this summer and was determined to create a case that would demonstrate its impacts on financial decision-making and how it can trap people in poverty. 

Here's Brian's description, with a link to this case study:

In the United States, the poor are staying poor and the rich are staying rich at an alarming rate . A silver bullet solution does not exist, but many of us are on the ongoing lookout for ways to help our students avoid slipping into the poverty trap when they graduate.

I recently wrote A Case Study on Living in Poverty . The goal was for students to catch a glimpse of what it’s like for a single parent of one child in Cincinnati, Ohio to escape the Cliff Effect .

Using job postings in the Cincinnati area, the case study reveals that it makes more financial sense to take a job at McDonald’s for $8.43 an hour than take a job at Walmart for $13.08 an hour. Both positions offered comparable benefits. I spoke on the phone with the Medicaid offices, as well as SNAP and other government assistance offices to ensure I fully understood the income thresholds necessary to receive government assistance, and what occurs when someone crosses the income threshold to receive assistance.

The case study served as a precursor to a PBL (project-based learning) career assignment. My goal is for students to better grasp the consequences of failing to further their education in college or a trade school. Please have a peek at A Case Study on Living in Poverty !

Thank you, Brian

-----------

Interested in case studies? Check out our case studies here with more on their way later this month too!

SEARCH FOR CONTENT

Behavioral Economics

Consumer Skills

Current Events

Curriculum Announcements

ELL Resources

FinCap Friday

Interactive

Paying for College

Press Releases

Podcasts in the Classroom

Professional Development

Question of the Day

So Expensive Series

Subscribe to the blog

Join the more than 11,000 teachers who get the NGPF daily blog delivered to their inbox:

MOST POPULAR POSTS

Question of the Day: What was the most-watched college basketball game ever on ESPN?

NGPF Celebrates 100,000 Teacher Accounts as Financial Education Gains National Support

Tax Return Rescue: The Case of the Scattered Digits, a brand new NGPF activity

Useful Personal Finance Movies and Documentaries with Worksheets

FinCap Friday: Surviving Shrinkflation

Awarded one of the Top Personal Finance Blogs

Awarded one of the Best Advocacy Blogs and Websites

Sending form...

One more thing.

Before your subscription to our newsletter is active, you need to confirm your email address by clicking the link in the email we just sent you. It may take a couple minutes to arrive, and we suggest checking your spam folders just in case!

Great! Success message here

New to NGPF?

Save time, increase student engagement, and help your students build life-changing financial skills with NGPF's free curriculum and PD.

Start with a FREE Teacher Account to unlock NGPF's teachers-only materials!

Become an ngpf pro in 4 easy steps:.

1. Sign up for your Teacher Account

2. Explore a unit page

3. Join NGPF Academy

4. Become an NGPF Pro!

Teacher Account Log In

Not a member? Sign Up

Forgot Password?

Thank you for registering for an NGPF Teacher Account!

Your new account will provide you with access to NGPF Assessments and Answer Keys. It may take up to 1 business day for your Teacher Account to be activated; we will notify you once the process is complete.

Thanks for joining our community!

The NGPF Team

Want a daily question of the day?

Subscribe to our blog and have one delivered to your inbox each morning, create a free teacher account.

Complete the form below to access exclusive resources for teachers. Our team will review your account and send you a follow up email within 24 hours.

Your Information

School lookup, add your school information.

To speed up your verification process, please submit proof of status to gain access to answer keys & assessments.

Acceptable information includes:

• a picture of you (think selfie!) holding your teacher/employee badge
• screenshots of your online learning portal or grade book
• screenshots to a staff directory page that lists your e-mail address
• any other means that can prove you are not a student attempting to gain access to the answer keys and assessments.

Acceptable file types: .png, .jpg, .pdf.

Create a Username & Password

Once you submit this form, our team will review your account and send you a follow up email within 24 hours. We may need additional information to verify your teacher status before you have full access to NGPF.

Already a member? Log In

 Welcome to NGPF!

Take the quiz to quickly find the best resources for you! 

ANSWER KEY ACCESS

share this!

May 28, 2024

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

peer-reviewed publication

trusted source

Economists report on a modest intervention that helps low-income families beat the poverty trap

by Peter Dizikes, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Many low-income families might desire to move into different neighborhoods—places that are safer, quieter, or have more resources in their schools. In fact, not many do relocate. But it turns out they are far more likely to move when someone is on hand to help them do it.

That's the outcome of a high-profile experiment by a research team including MIT economists, which shows that a modest amount of logistical assistance dramatically increases the likelihood that low-income families will move into neighborhoods providing better economic opportunity.

A paper describing this work is published in the journal American Economic Review .

The randomized field experiment, set in the Seattle area, showed that the number of families using vouchers for new housing jumped from 15% to 53% when they had more information, some financial support, and, most of all, a navigator who helped them address logistical challenges.

"The question we were after is really what drives residential segregation," says Nathaniel Hendren, an MIT economist and co-author of the paper detailing the results. "Is it due to preferences people have, due to having family or jobs close by? Or are there constraints on the search process that make it difficult to move?" As the study clearly shows, he says, "Just pairing people with [navigators] broke down search barriers and created dramatic changes in where they chose to live. This was really just a very deep need in the search process."

The study's results have prompted U.S. Congress to twice allocate $25 million in funds, allowing eight other U.S. cities to run their own versions of the experiment and measure the impact.

That is partly because the result "represented a bigger treatment effect than any of us had really ever seen," says Christopher Palmer, an MIT economist and a co-author of the paper. "We spend a little bit of money to help people take down the barriers to moving to these places, and they are happy to do it."

New research renews an idea

The study follows other prominent work about the geography of economic mobility. In 2018, Chetty and Hendren released an "Opportunity Atlas" of the U.S., a comprehensive national study showing that other things being equal, some areas provide greater long-term economic mobility for people who grow up there. The project brought renewed attention to the influence of place on economic outcomes.

The Seattle experiment also follows a 1990s federal government program called Moving to Opportunity, a test in five U.S. cities helping families seek new neighborhoods. That intervention had mixed results: Participants who moved reported better mental health, but there was no apparent change in income levels.

Still, in light of the Opportunity Atlas data, the scholars decided to revisit the concept, with a program they call Creating Moves to Opportunity (CMTO). This provides housing vouchers along with a bundle of other things: Short-term financial assistance of about $1,000 on average, more information, and the assistance of a navigator, a caseworker who would help troubleshoot issues that families encountered.

The experiment was implemented by the Seattle and King County Housing Authorities, along with MDRC, a nonprofit policy research organization, and J-PAL North America. The latter is one of the arms of the MIT-based Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a leading center promoting randomized, controlled trials in the social sciences.

The experiment included 712 families and two phases. In the first, all participants were issued housing vouchers worth a little more than $1,500 per month on average, and divided into treatment and control groups. Families in the treatment group also received the CMTO bundle of services, including the navigator.

In this phase, lasting from 2018 to 2019, 53% of families in the treatment group used the housing vouchers, while only 15% of those in the control group used the vouchers. Families who moved dispersed to 46 different neighborhoods, defined by U.S. Census Bureau tracts, meaning they were not just shifting en masse from one location to one other.

Families who moved were very likely to want to renew their leases, and expressed satisfaction with their new neighborhoods. All told, the program cost about $2,670 per family. Additional research scholars in the group have conducted about changes in income suggest the program's direct benefits are 2.5 times greater than its costs.

"Our sense is that's a pretty reasonable return for the money compared to other strategies we have to combat intergenerational poverty," Hendren says.

Logistical and emotional support

In the second phase of the experiment, lasting from 2019 to 2020, families in a treatment group received individual components of the CMTO support, while the control group again only received the housing vouchers. This way, the researchers could see which parts of the program made the biggest difference. The vast majority of the impact, it turned out, came from receiving the full set of services, especially the "customized" help of navigators.

"What came out of the phase two results was that the customized search assistance was just invaluable to people," Palmer says. "The barriers are so heterogenous across families." Some people might have trouble understanding lease terms; others might want guidance about schools; still others might have no experience renting a moving truck.

The research turned up a related phenomenon: In 251 follow-up interviews, families often emphasized that the navigators mattered partly because moving is so stressful.

"When we interviewed people and asked them what was so valuable about that, they said things like, "Emotional support,'" Palmer observes. He notes that many families participating in the program are "in distress," facing serious problems such as the potential for homelessness.

Moving the experiment to other cities

The researchers say they welcome the opportunity to see how the Creating Moves to Opportunity program, or at least localized replications of it, might fare in other places. Congress allocated $25 million in 2019, and then again in 2022, so the program could be tried out in eight metro areas : Cleveland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York City, Pittsburgh, and Rochester. With the COVID-19 pandemic having slowed the process, officials in those places are still examining the outcomes.

"It's thrilling to us that Congress has appropriated money to try this program in different cities, so we can verify it wasn't just that we had really magical and dedicated family navigators in Seattle," Palmer says. "That would be really useful to test and know."

Seattle might feature a few particularities that helped the program succeed. As a newer city than many metro areas, it may contain fewer social roadblocks to moving across neighborhoods, for instance.

"It's conceivable that in Seattle, the barriers for moving to opportunity are more solvable than they might be somewhere else." Palmer says. "That's [one reason] to test it in other places."

Still, the Seattle experiment might translate well even in cities considered to have entrenched neighborhood boundaries and racial divisions. Some of the project's elements extend earlier work applied in the Baltimore Housing Mobility Program, a voucher plan run by the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership. In Seattle, though, the researchers were able to rigorously test the program as a field experiment, one reason it has seemed viable to try to replicate it elsewhere.

"The generalizable lesson is there's not a deep-seated preference for staying put that's driving residential segregation," Hendren says. "I think that's important to take away from this. Is this the right policy to fight residential segregation? That's an open question, and we'll see if this kind of approach generalizes to other cities."

Journal information: American Economic Review

Provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology

This story is republished courtesy of MIT News ( web.mit.edu/newsoffice/ ), a popular site that covers news about MIT research, innovation and teaching.

Explore further

Feedback to editors

Saturday Citations: The sound of music, sneaky birds, better training for LLMs. Plus: Diversity improves research

11 hours ago

Study investigates a massive 'spider' pulsar

12 hours ago

Greener, more effective termite control: Natural compound attracts wood eaters

14 hours ago

Shear genius: Researchers find way to scale up wonder material, which could do wonders for the Earth

New vestiges of the first life on Earth discovered in Saudi Arabia

May 31, 2024

Mussels downstream of wastewater treatment plant contain radium, study reports

A new way to see viruses in action: Super-resolution microscopy provides a nano-scale look

Martian meteorites deliver a trove of information on red planet's structure

New imager acquires amplitude and phase information without digital processing

AI helps scientists understand cosmic explosions

Relevant physicsforums posts, best and worst cowbell parody parodies.

3 hours ago

Biographies, history, personal accounts

Most underrated rock drummer.

6 hours ago

Cover songs versus the original track, which ones are better?

15 hours ago

Another Word I Got Wrong : Vile

21 hours ago

Etymology of the word 'fart' in a handful of PIE languages

More from Art, Music, History, and Linguistics

Related Stories

People in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods are both stuck and rooted, study finds

Mar 13, 2024

Poor families must move often, but rarely escape concentrated poverty

Oct 8, 2020

Starting over in new neighborhoods helps ex-offenders stay out of jail

Apr 4, 2019

Study finds cost-driven housing moves lead to disruptions in federal assistance programs

Feb 6, 2024

Federal housing programs appear to protect residents from lead exposure

Recommended for you.

Satellite data study shows 1.18 billion people are energy poor, finding no evidence of electricity usage from space

Stress bragging may make you seem less competent, less likable at work

May 23, 2024

Gender gaps remain for many women scientists, study finds

May 20, 2024

Ridesourcing platforms thrive on socio-economic inequality, say researchers

Apr 26, 2024

Which countries are more at risk in the global supply chain?

Apr 19, 2024

Study finds world economy already committed to income reduction of 19% due to climate change

Apr 17, 2024

Let us know if there is a problem with our content

Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. For general inquiries, please use our contact form . For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines ).

Please select the most appropriate category to facilitate processing of your request

Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors.

Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages.

E-mail the story

Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Phys.org in any form.

Newsletter sign up

Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details to third parties.

More information Privacy policy

Donate and enjoy an ad-free experience

We keep our content available to everyone. Consider supporting Science X's mission by getting a premium account.

E-mail newsletter

Spatial evolution and spatial production of traditional villages from “backward poverty villages” to “ecologically well-off villages”: Experiences from the hinterland of national nature reserves in China

• Original Article
• Published: 17 May 2024
• Volume 21 , pages 1100–1118, ( 2024 )

Cite this article

• Yiyi Zhang   ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0003-4286-2696 1 &
• Yangbing Li   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8331-2709 1  

Explore all metrics

With the rapid urbanization process, the space of traditional villages in China is undergoing significant changes. Studying the spatial evolution of traditional villages is significant in promoting rural spatial transformation and realizing rural revitalization and sustainable rural development. Based on the traceability analysis of spatial production theory, this paper constructed an analytical framework for the spatial production evolution of traditional villages, analyzed the spatial evolution process and characteristics of traditional villages by using buffer analysis, spatial syntax, and other research methods, and revealed the characteristics of the spatial production evolution of traditional villages and the driving mechanism. The results show that: (1) The village spatial formation and development follow the village life cycle theory and usually develop from embryonic villages to diversified and integrated villages; (2) The evolution of village spatial production is characterized by the diversity of material space, the sublimation of daily life space, and the integration of social system space and generalization of emotional space; (3) The evolution of village spatial production from backward and poor village to ecologically well-off village is influenced by a combination of factors; (4) The village has formed a spatial structure of “people-land-scape-culture-industry”, realized comprehensive reconstruction and spatial reproduction. The study results reflect the spatial evolution characteristics of traditional villages in mountainous areas in a more comprehensive way, which helps to promote the protection and development of traditional villages in mountainous areas and, to a certain extent, provides a reference for the development of rural revitalization.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Availability of Data/Materials: Data will be made available on request.

Bi GH, Yang QY (2023) The spatial production of rural settlements as rural homestays in rural revitalization: Evidence from a rural tourism experiment in a Chinese village. Land Use Policy 128:106600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106600

Article   Google Scholar  

Buckley R, Zhong LS, Ma XY (2017) Visitors to protected areas in China. Biol Conserv 209: 83–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.01.024

Buser M (2012) The production of space in metropolitan regions: A Lefebvrian analysis of governance and spatial change. Plan Theor 11(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/1473095212439693

Hillier B (2009) Spatial sustainability in cities: organic patterns and sustainable forms. Royal Institute of Technology.

Chen WX, Gu TC, Xiang JW KRE, et al. (2023) Assessing the conservation effectiveness of national nature reserves in China. Appl Geogr 161: 103125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2023.103125

Douglass M (2014) Afterword: Global householding and social reproduction in Asia. Geoforum 51:313–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.11.003

Dunn CE (2007) Participatory GIS-a people’s GIS?. Prog Hum Geog 31(5):616–637. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132507081493

Elden S (2004) Between Marx and Heidegger: Politics, Philosophy and Lefebvre’s The Production of Space. Antipode 36(1):86–105. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8330.2004.00383.x

Gromov EI, Agibalov AV (2017) Criteria and principles of integrated assessment of the conditions of development of rural territorial systems. Vestnik of Voronezh State Agrarian University. https://doi.org/10.17238/issn2071-2243.2017.4.175

Gong JZ, Jian YQ, Chen WL, et al. (2022) Transitions in rural settlements and implications for rural revitalization in Guangdong Province. J Rur Stud 93:359–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.10.037

Halfacre K (2006) Rural Space: Constructing A Three-Fold Architecture. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781848608016.n4

Hu D, Zhou S, Chen Z, et al. (2021) Analysis of the effect of naming tools for “Traditional Chinese villages” in the context of rapid urbanization: a spatial mapping analysis of Jiangxi Province, Advances in Geographical Sciences 40(1):10. (In Chinese)

Google Scholar  

Hu XL, Li HB, Zhang XL, et al. (2019) Multi-dimensionality and the totality of rural spatial restructuring from the perspective of the rural space system: A case study of traditional villages in the ancient Huizhou region, China. Habitat Int 94:102062. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2019.102062

Jia KY, Qiao WF, Chai YB, et al. (2020) Spatial distribution characteristics of rural settlements under diversified rural production functions: A case of Taizhou, China. Habitat Int 102:102201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2020.102201

Jonathan H (2009) Theories of human emotion Sociology. Eastern Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.32.061604.123130

Kong XS, Liu DF, Tian YS, et al. (2021) Multi-objective spatial reconstruction of rural settlements considering intervillage social connections. J Rur Stud 84:254–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.02.028

Kurniawan F, Adrianto L, Bengen DG, et al. (2019) The social-ecological status of small islands: an evaluation of island tourism destination management in Indonesia. Tour Manag Perspect (31)136-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2019.04.004

Lefebvre H (1991) The Production of Space. British Library in Publication, Cambridge, UK.

Li B, Li X, Wang S, et al. (2022) Study on the transformation and development of traditional village habitat environment in the perspective of rural revitalization. Journal of Hunan Normal University (Natural Science Edition) 45(01):1–10. (In Chinese)

Lin LK, Du CL, Yao Y, et al. (2021) Dynamic influencing mechanism of traditional settlements experiencing urbanization: A case study of Chengzi Village. J Cleaner Prod 320:128462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128462

Li HB, Yuan Y, Zhang XL, et al. (2022) Evolution and transformation mechanism of the spatial structure of rural settlements from the perspective of long-term economic and social change: A case study of the Sunan region, China. J Rur Stud 93:234–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.03.005

Li Y, Dang A, Cao H (2010) Conservation-oriented accessibility assessment for historical and cultural towns: Taking Zhouzhuang town as an example. International Conference on Geoinformatics. (In Chinese)

Lin Z, Nannan LI, Chang J, et al. (2016) The Differentiation characteristics and formation mechanism of hollowrization in traditional villages: a case study of the traditional villages in Yangquan, Shanxi. Modern Urban Research. (In Chinese)

Liu C, Duan DZ, Yu R, et al. (2014) Spatial correlation and its evolution of urban-rural road network based on Complex Network Approach: Evidence from the Wuhan Metropolitan Area. Human Geography. (In Chinese)

Liu C, Cao YJ, Chen Y, et al. (2020) Pattern identification and analysis for the traditional village using low altitude UAV-borne remote sensing: multifeatured geospatial data to support rural landscape investigation, documentation, and management. J Cult Herit 44:185–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2019.12.013

Liu WP, Henneberry SR, Ni JP, et al. (2019) Socio-cultural roots of rural settlement dispersion in Sichuan Basin: The perspective of Chinese lineage. Land Use Policy 88:104162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104162

Lu YH, Qian JX (2023) Rural creativity for community revitalization in Bishan Village, China: The nexus of creative practices, cultural revival, and social resilience. J Rur Stud 97:255–268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.12.017

Ma HD, Tong Y (2021) Spatial differentiation of traditional villages using ArcGIS and GeoDa: A case study of Southwest China. Ecol Inform (1):101416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2021.101416

Mackrell P (2018) New representations of rural space: Eastern European migrants and the denial of poverty and deprivation in the English countryside. J Rur Stud 59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2018.01.009

Miao Z, Fang W, Xiang SN, et al. (2020) Inheritance or variation? Spatial regeneration and acculturation via implantation of cultural and creative industries in Beijing’s traditional compounds. Habitat Int 95:102071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2019.102071

Pei YF, Gong K, Leng JW (2020) Study on the inter-village space of a traditional Huizhou Region: Hongguan Village group as an example. Front Archit Res 9(3):588–605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2020.03.006

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Qiao JC, Gao SX (1991) Prachik’s theory of emotional evolution. J Psychol 23(4):8. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0069054

Qu YB, Jiang GH, Li ZT, et al. (2019) Understanding rural land use transition and regional consolidation implications in China. Land Use Policy 82. https://doi.org/1016/j.landusepol.2018.11.014

Roth R (2009) The challenges of mapping complex indigenous spatiality: from abstract space to dwelling space. Cult Geogr 16(2):207–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474474008101517

Segun O (2014) Behavioral Outcomes of Culture and Socioeconomic Status on Urban Residential Morphology: A Case Study of Lagos. Conference on Environment-Behaviour Studies.

Shi LN, Wang YS (2021) Evolution characteristics and driving factors of negative decoupled rural residential land and resident population in the Yellow River Basin. Land Use Policy 109. https://doi.org/1016/j.landusepol.2021.105685

Song XH (2014) Place, space, and Existence: on the eco-cultural thoughts of Yi-Fu Tuan. Chinese Social Science Press. (In Chinese)

Sun JX (2017) China’s tourism development: conservation and utilization of traditional villages - Traditional villages: theoretical connotations and development paths. Journal of Tourism 32(1):3. (In Chinese)

Sun J, Jing SU (2014) Traditional Community Space Change under the Influence of Tourism: A Reflective Study Based on Space Production Theory. Tourism Tribune. (In Chinese)

Sun J, Zhou Y (2014) study on the reproduction of space of tourism community from the perspective of everyday life: Based on Lefebvre and De Certeau theories. Acta Geographica Sinica 69(10):1575–1589. (In Chinese)

Thrift N (2008) Non-Representational Theory: Space. Politics. Affect, Non-Representational Theory: Space. Politics. Affect.

Wang F (2017) Memory and Nostalgia in Migration: the evolutionary mechanism and spatial logic of urban-rural memory. Geographical Studies (1):23. (In Chinese)

Wang M, Luo ZW, Jiang RH, et al. (2023a) Heritage space multiple temporalities and the reproduction of Guangzhou Overseas Chinese Village. Emot Space soc 48:100958.

Wang ZH (2009) Multiple dialectical Leviovorian spatial production concepts of triadic deduction and derivation. J Geogr (55):1–24. (In Chinese)

Wilson GA (2001) From Productivism to Post-Productivism and Back Again? Exploring the (Un)changed Natural and Mental Landscapes of European Agriculture. T I Brit Geogr 26(1) 77–102. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-5661.00007

Wang F, Zhao XG, Qiu YX, et al. (2023) A study on native and constructed localities in the modern adaptation of villages. Habitat Int 138:102849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2023.102849 .

Xia B, Wxa B, Hlc D (2020) The spatial evolution process, characteristics and driving factors of traditional villages from the perspective of the cultural ecosystem: A case study of Chengkan Village. Habitat Int 104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2020.102250

Xia C, Zhang AQ, Wang HJ, et al. (2019) Predicting the expansion of urban boundary using space syntax and multivariate regression model. Habitat Int 86:126–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2019.03.001 .

Xie YZ (2021) research on identifying and revitalizing cultural genes in Leshan GeTou village from the perspective of poverty alleviation through non-heritage. Guizhou University. (In Chinese)

Yang R, Lu J, Li W (2022) Multi-dimensional spatial evolution of typical traditional villages in the Pearl River Delta’s urban fringe is influencing mechanism. Economic Geography 42(03):190–199. (In Chinese)

Yang YY, Bao WK, Liu YS (2020) Coupling coordination analysis of rural production-living-ecological space in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region 117(4):106512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106512

Ye C, Cai Y (2012) A case study of change in geographic thought: Harvey’s academic transformation. Journal of Geography 67(1):10. (In Chinese)

Zeng M, Wang F, Xiang S, et al. (2020) Inheritance or variation? Spatial regeneration and acculturation via implantation of cultural and creative industries in Beijing’s traditional compounds. Habitat Int 95:102071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2019.102071

Zhang QY, Ye C, Duan JJ (2022) Multi-dimensional superposition: Rural collaborative governance in Liushe Village, Suzhou City. J Rur Stud 96:141–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.10.002

Zhang YZ, Baimu SL, Tong J, et al. (2018) Geometric spatial structure of traditional Tibetan settlements of Degger County, China: A case study of four villages. Front Archit Res. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2018.05.005

Zhang YX, Hu YX, Zhang B, et al. (2020) Conflict between nature reserves and surrounding communities in China: an empirical study based on a social and ecological system framework. Glob Ecol Conserv 21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00804

Zhao XY, Ju SL, Wang WJ, et al. (2022) Intergenerational and gender differences in farmers’ satisfaction with rural public space: Insights from a traditional village in Northwest China. Appl Geogr 146:102770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2022.102770

Zou LL, Liu YS, Yang JX, et al. (2020) Quantitative identification and spatial analysis of land use ecological-production-living functions in rural areas on China’s southeast coast. Habitat Int 100, 102182.10. https://doi.org/1016/j.habitatint.2020.102182

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42061035) and the Guizhou Provincial Program on Commercialization of Scientific and Technological Achievements ([2022]010). We are very grateful to the anonymous reviewers who helped to improve the clarity and relevance of our research presentation.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, 550001, China

Yiyi Zhang & Yangbing Li

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

ZHANG Yiyi: Methodology, Investigation, Writing-original draft, Visualization. LI Yangbing: Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yangbing Li .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Zhang, Y., Li, Y. Spatial evolution and spatial production of traditional villages from “backward poverty villages” to “ecologically well-off villages”: Experiences from the hinterland of national nature reserves in China. J. Mt. Sci. 21 , 1100–1118 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-023-8349-2

Download citation

Received : 13 September 2023

Revised : 19 March 2024

Accepted : 22 March 2024

Published : 17 May 2024

Issue Date : April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-023-8349-2

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Traditional villages
• Spatial production
• Spatial evolution
• Spatial reconstruction
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research