The impact of poverty alleviation policies on rural economic resilience in impoverished areas: A case study of Lankao County, China

Abstract

It has been recognized that China's targeted poverty alleviation policy can greatly improve the economic development of rural areas, but whether it can improve rural resilience for sustainable development has been less studied. Based on anatomising the connotation of rural economic resilience and proposing theoretical framework for the influence of policies, this study empirically analyses the implication of poverty alleviation policies on rural economic resilience using regression analysis techniques, based on field survey data from 338 villages in Lankao County, China. It is shown that rural economic resilience is connected with their resistance, adaptation, and transformation capabilities, and China's targeted poverty alleviation policies have significantly improved the economic resilience of villages because of the government's efforts to upgrade production factors, optimise the economic structure and expand rural functions have awakened the impetus of endogenous development in rural areas. Compared with resistance and transformability, poverty alleviation policies have a greater positive impact on the adaptability of rural economies. The explanatory power of poverty alleviation policies on the rural economic resilience of Lankao County shows obvious spatial differentiation. The effectiveness of poverty alleviation policies was more prominent in the southeast, where poverty was worse. The recommendations proposed based on these results can provide an important reference for promoting rural economic resilience and sustainable development in developing countries.