China's poverty reduction miracle and relative poverty: Focusing on the roles of growth and inequality

Abstract

Miracle reductions in absolute poverty led China to announce, in late 2019, the strategic change from targeting absolute poverty to targeting relative poverty. After highlighting China's success in the fight against absolute poverty, this paper attempts to assess the roles of growth and income inequality in affecting both absolute and relative poverty rates. Poverty decomposition and panel-VAR modelling results show that growth played an overwhelming role in achieving the miracle of poverty reduction but relative poverty has been consistently rising. And growth, contrary to the case of absolute poverty, actually has contributed to the rising trend of relative poverty. Conversely, income inequality has played a small role in aggravating absolute poverty but a moderate role in raising relative poverty. Therefore, it seems appropriate for China to continue targeting absolute poverty with a higher poverty line. In the case that China insists on shifting the poverty alleviation strategy, market-led growth can no longer be relied on to reduce relative poverty. Instead, government-led pro-poor policies must be instituted by providing employment, education, training and other opportunities to the disadvantaged groups, in addition to the usual social assistance.