Poverty Alleviation Policies Research Articles

Health poverty alleviation and rural revitalization on the survival anxiety of rural elderly residents in the context of social psychology

BackgroundWith the advent of health poverty alleviation and rural revitalization policies in China, a significant change in the well-being of rural elderly residents has been noted. However, more research is required to understand the psychological implications of these policies. This study aims to analyze residents’ survival anxiety from a psychological perspective.Subjects and MethodsThis study utilized a quasi-experimental design involving two groups-an intervention group (n=500) experiencing the policies of health poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, and a control group (n=500) unexposed to these policies. Both groups consisted of rural elderly residents aged 60 years or above from 10 villages in rural China. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews using the Survival Anxiety Scale (SAS) pre-and-post intervention. Data analysis involved a combination of descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, and Binary Logistic Regression, conducted via SPSS v23.ResultsResults showed a significant decrease in the level of survival anxiety in the intervention group post-exposure to the policies (P<0.05) compared to the control group. Specifically, the odds of survival anxiety were 0.61 times lower among those who had experienced the policies, controlling for age, gender, and baseline SAS scores.ConclusionsThis finding indicates that health poverty alleviation and rural revitalization have a favourable effect on reducing survival anxiety among rural elderly residents. This implies a strong correlation between social policy and mental health.

Promoting health equity through poverty alleviation policy: Factors associated with receipt of the 2021 U.S. Child Tax Credit in a nationwide sample

IntroductionThe 2021 temporary expansion of the U.S. Child Tax Credit (CTC) was a potent policy that addressed poverty as a critical social determinant of health. Yet policies can only have their intended effects if they are implemented appropriately, and it is well known that not all who were eligible for the CTC received it. In this study, we investigated which individual- and state-level factors were correlated with receipt of the 2021 expanded CTC among eligible families. MethodsWe used data from the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey and included 76,994 CTC-eligible individuals. We used multivariable logistic regressions to evaluate individual- and state-level factors associated with self-reported CTC receipt during July–December 2021. ResultsRoughly two-thirds of the CTC-eligible sample reported CTC receipt. CTC receipt was higher among eligible individuals who were female, aged 35–44 years (relative to younger individuals), Black, and married. Receipt was also higher among those with at least some college education, two or more children, and family income above $25,000, and among recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid. For state-level factors, SNAP and Medicaid caseloads and the state earned income tax credit rate were associated with decreased receipt. ConclusionAs Congress debates whether to make the CTC expansion permanent, this study provides timely evidence to inform poverty alleviation programs to increase participation among eligible and marginalized groups and achieve health equity.

Commitment and Coordination: Studies on the Implementation of Poverty Alleviation Policies in Makasar City

Makasar City is one of the cities with the highest poverty problem in South Sulawesi so that poverty alleviation policies are carried out. This study aims to identify and analyze commitment and coordination in the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Program (PAP) in Makassar City. The research method uses a qualitative approach with in-depth interviews and document reviews. This paper will answer two questions: How is the government's commitment to PAP? How is the coordination between agencies in the distribution of PAP? The results of the study show that the commitment of the government of Makassar City is relatively high. But unfortunately, the commitment of government elites has not been fully supported by the commitment of implementers at the RT/RW level. The pattern of coordination between organizations has not gone well, and this is indicated by differences in data between Regional Work Unit (SKPD) in terms of the number of poor people.

Exploring precise poverty alleviation policies based on causal inference: a case study from China

To explore the effect of targeted poverty alleviation policies in Guangdong Province from the perspective of causal inference, this paper conducts quantitative research based on panel data of poverty-stricken counties in Guangdong Province from 2013 to 2020. Specifically, breakpoint regression is used to analyze the initial effect of the policy, instrumental variables are used to analyze the long-term effect of the policy implementation, and finally, the generalized comprehensive control method is used to make a comparative study. The results show that: (1) The targeted poverty alleviation policy in Guangdong Province has a remarkable effect on poverty reduction; (2) The effect of targeted poverty alleviation policy is still remarkable by comparing the implemented policy with the unimplemented one in Guangdong Province; (3) The improvement of market economic activity can effectively promote the increase of farmers’ personal net income in poor areas of Guangdong Province.

Grid-Scale Poverty Assessment by Integrating High-Resolution Nighttime Light and Spatial Big Data—A Case Study in the Pearl River Delta

Poverty is a social issue of global concern. Although socioeconomic indicators can easily reflect poverty status, the coarse statistical scales and poor timeliness have limited their applications. While spatial big data with reasonable timeliness, easy access, and wide coverage can overcome such limitations, the integration of high-resolution nighttime light and spatial big data for assessing relative poverty is still limited. More importantly, few studies have provided poverty assessment results at a grid scale. Therefore, this study takes the Pearl River Delta, where there is a large disparity between the rich and the poor, as an example. We integrated Luojia 1-01, points of interest, and housing prices to construct a big data poverty index (BDPI). To evaluate the performance of the BDPI, we compared this new index with the traditional multidimensional poverty index (MPI), which builds upon socioeconomic indicators. The results show that the impoverished counties identified by the BDPI are highly similar to those identified by the MPI. In addition, both the BDPI and MPI gradually decrease from the center to the fringe of the study area. These two methods indicate that impoverished counties were mainly distributed in ZhaoQing, JiangMen and HuiZhou Cities, while there were also several impoverished parts in rapidly developing cities, such as CongHua and HuaDu Counties in GuangZhou City. The difference between the two poverty assessment results suggests that the MPI can effectively reveal the poverty status in old urban areas with convenient but obsolete infrastructures, whereas the BDPI is suitable for emerging-development areas that are rapidly developing but still lagging behind. Although BDPI and MPI share similar calculation procedures, there are substantial differences in the meaning and suitability of the methodology. Therefore, in areas lacking accurate socioeconomic statistics, the BDPI can effectively replace the MPI to achieve timely and fine-scale poverty assessment. Our proposed method could provide a reliable reference for formulating targeted poverty-alleviation policies.

Examination of the poverty-environmental degradation nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa

The relationship between environmental degradation and poverty has increasingly become the focus of national strategic decision-making in recent years. However, despite several theoretical explorations on the nexus, a dearth of empirical literature on the poverty-environmental degradation nexus, specifically on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), still exists. In this study, we investigated the poverty-environmental degradation nexus in SSA. We hypothesized that poverty is both a cause and effect of environmental degradation, and this relationship is explained as a vicious cycle. Unlike previous studies, we employed several alternative indicators of environmental degradation to examine the poverty-environmental degradation nexus in this study. We used data from 41 countries of SSA between 1996 and 2019 and employed the generalized method of moments (GMM) approach. The findings suggest a cyclical relationship between poverty and environmental degradation in SSA, which confirms that an increase in poverty leads to an increase in environmental degradation, especially in deforestation and PM2.5 emissions. Similarly, the increase in environmental degradation positively affects poverty in SSA. We also confirmed that exogenous conditioning factors such as population growth rate, education, industrialization, and income inequality, institutional quality indicators such as governance effectiveness, control of corruption, freedom ad civil liberty, and democracy, and endogenous factors including fossil fuel energy use, fuelwood energy use, household health expenditure, infant mortality rate, and agriculture productivity influence the nexus between poverty and environmental degradation. The findings on the relationship between poverty and environmental degradation in SSA are a testimonial evidence that both poverty and environmental degradation are significant issues in SSA. Hence, poverty alleviation policies in SSA should not lead to PM2.5 emissions and deforestation, which may as well force people into a poverty-environmental degradation trap. Instead, poverty reduction policies should simultaneously achieve environmental conservation.

Spatial correlation analysis of comprehensive efficiency of the photovoltaic poverty alleviation policy - Evidence from 110 counties in China

The photovoltaic poverty alleviation (PV-PA) policy is a promising policy innovation to achieve sustainable development in China. Based on first-hand field investigation data of 18 prefecture-level cities and 110 counties in China's Henan Province, this paper first evaluated the efficiency of PV-PA policy and analyzed its spatial correlation characteristics by adopting data envelopment analysis, spatial autocorrelation analysis and social network analysis methods. The results show that: (1) the comprehensive efficiency of the PV-PA policy in Henan Province is good, and that of the prefecture-level is better than the county-level, with great differences; (2) comprehensive efficiency of the PV-PA policy shows a significant spatial agglomeration phenomenon at the county-level, and regional development imbalance exists; and (3) PV-PA policy network linkages at prefecture-level are relatively weak. Finally, this paper makes policy recommendations for optimizing project scale, promoting regional balanced development, strengthening supervision and management, and enhancing the cooperation between policymakers.

Does targeted poverty alleviation policy lead to happy life? Evidence from rural China

Based on 2013–2019 data from the China Household Finance Survey, we used the difference-in-differences method to systematically and quantitatively analyze the relationship between a targeted poverty alleviation policy and the rural poor's subjective well-being in China. The results showed that the targeted poverty alleviation policy has a spillover effect of improving rural poor households' happiness. Mechanism analysis found that the increment of both material and non-material welfare dimensions, as well as the building of positive attitudes during the process of policy implementation improve the rural poor's happiness status. Heterogeneity analysis shows that “hematopoietic” poverty alleviation policies have significant effects on the subjective well-being of all poor households, while “blood transfusion” policies have more significant effects on the subjective well-being of poverty caused by illness and old age.

Multidimensional Poverty and its Effect on the Economy of Aceh Province

The first goal of Sustainable Development Goals, eliminating poverty in all forms, is closer to multidimensional poverty rather than official poverty statistics, which are measured using the basic need approach. Examining the trend of economic growth in Aceh during the past few years reveals the limitations of this strategy. Economic improvement has little effect on the poverty rate because it is only measured in one dimension. This research measures the poverty rate from various aspects by examining the forming factors first. The formed index will then be analyzed for its properness by involving other related variables and compared to the basic-need-based poverty measurement. Furthermore, every impact of each dimension on economic growth will also be assessed. Using the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), multidimensional poverty is measured to give another perspective on the poverty rate. Multiple linear regression is employed to identify the relationship between the poverty dimension and the economy. The result shows that the new poverty rate measurement gives more proper poverty distribution across the region in Aceh Province. Concerning the human development index, multidimensional poverty is more relevant than basic need poverty. Asset ownership and education are the dimensions that significantly affect the economy. Our study concludes that multidimensional poverty should complement the monetary poverty produced by national statistical agencies and provide a new direction of poverty alleviation policy, such as increasing physical investment in households or creating vocational programs to improve the quality of the population.

Research on China's Education Poverty Alleviation Policy

In the new generation, China has implemented the "Socialist Poverty Alleviation" strategy, characterized by Chinese features. In this phase, it is essential to reduce poverty by educating people, and it is also the basis for achieving the goal of reducing poverty. The policy has effectively solved the issue of the prevalence of poverty in low-income families. This study analyzes Chinese poverty-relief policies and reviews the residual shortcomings of implementing these policies. At last, it is recommended that China takes measures to reduce education poverty in China to improve national education and advance social equity. Based on the theory of harm policy, this article proposes several methods and recommendations to enhance the precision, effectiveness, and science of reducing education poverty. For policymakers, it is necessary to recognize the social constructiveness of poverty, pay attention to the reform of school education structure, and create favorable conditions for "poor families to bring out rich children" through the structural reform of the education supply side.

Does Ownership Affect Corporate Social Responsibility? Evidence from Chinese Companies' Response to Targeted Poverty Alleviation

With the Chinese economy's development and growing wealth disparity, enhancing corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a crucial issue for the government. Existing research has mainly focused on the impact of factors such as firm size, CEO characteristics, and industry affiliation on CSR. However, this study explores the impact of ownership on the amount of corporate donations from a different perspective. Using Difference-in-Differences (DID) approach with data from A-share listed companies between 2010 and 2020, this study analyzes how ownership affects donation amounts. The results demonstrate that ownership structure significantly affects donation amounts. The findings indicate that private enterprises are more likely to increase their donation amounts after the implementation of targeted poverty alleviation policies, with a growth rate that is 13.03% higher compared to non-private enterprises. The study also identifies firm size, the years of company listing, growth, and asset-liability ratio as factors affecting donation amounts. Furthermore, through mechanism analysis, return on assets, bank loans, and financing constraints are identified as the main mechanisms through which ownership influences donation amounts. The research has important implications for understanding how corporations can enhance their CSR performance, and government agencies can develop relevant policies to promote CSR among enterprises.

Assessing the effectiveness of targeted poverty alleviation policies in Xinjiang, China

To consolidate and expand the effective connection between the achievements of poverty alleviation in Xinjiang’s deeply impoverished areas and rural revitalization, it is necessary to study the effects and mechanisms of poverty alleviation policies. In this paper, the value of night light is used to measure regional economic development, and the panel data of 32 national key counties for poverty alleviation in Xinjiang and the remaining 48 counties in the province under its jurisdiction are analyzed by using the dual difference method to evaluate the promotion effect of poverty alleviation policies on regional economic development. The indirect impact of different poverty alleviation measures on economic development is explored by using the intermediary effect model. The study found that the implementation of the policy significantly promoted the development of the county economy, and the poverty alleviation policy in minority counties in the region had a stronger role in promoting the economy than that in nonminority counties. Further analysis of the mechanism shows that industrial poverty alleviation and education poverty alleviation have a significant role in county economic development, and the promotion of education poverty alleviation is lower than that of industry poverty alleviation.

The Impact of Livelihood Capital Endowment on Household Poverty Alleviation: The Mediating Effect of Land Transfer

(1) Background: Poverty eradication is the common goal and challenge of human development. Livelihood capital is the basis for poor families to escape poverty and is also the key to enhancing the ability for sustainable development. (2) Methods: Using data from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this paper empirically examines the impact of livelihood capital on poverty alleviation. In addition, the mediating effect of land transfer is explored. (3) Results: The results show that human, physical, financial, and social capital all have a significant positive impact on poverty alleviation, while natural capital has a significant negative impact on poverty alleviation. Moreover, land transfer plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between livelihood capital and poverty alleviation. (4) Conclusions: Based on the above findings, we suggest that the government formulate targeted poverty alleviation policies according to rural households’ livelihood capital endowment characteristics, reasonably guide the land flow, and achieve sustainable poverty reduction.

Determinants of trade of mineral resources between China and ASEAN

This research evaluates the mineral resources trade pattern between China and ten ASEAN members using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag technique and annual data from 2000 to 2021. The findings confirmed that the sustainable development index harms the trade of mineral resources between China and ASEAN countries. Regarding the export of mineral resources from China to ASEAN countries, the openness of the financial markets has no significant effect. Besides, the poverty variable significantly impacts only in the short term. However, regarding China's import of mineral resources from ASEAN countries, the indicators of poverty and the openness of China's financial markets are effective in the short- and long-term. The suggested practical policies by this research are developing poverty alleviation policies, expanding regional financial markets, and multilateral trade agreements in technology transfer and green utilities.

Performance-Evaluation Index for Precision Poverty Alleviation in China’s Shaanxi Province

An effective and accurate poverty-alleviation system is necessary for eradicating poverty and promoting regional economic and social growth. Performance evaluation plays a key role in developing a precise poverty-alleviation policy. However, systematic performance evaluation of precise poverty-alleviation efforts has been largely ignored in the literature. This study sorts the poverty-alleviation performance of 10 major urban areas in Shaanxi Province using the count and analysis method. The empirical findings show that among poverty indexes, the yield of agricultural products has the greatest impact on poverty alleviation. Furthermore, the poverty-alleviation performance of Xianyang, Weinan, and Ankang is relatively high. The efforts of Xi’an and Baoji are at the middle level, and those of Tongchuan and Yan’an are at a relatively low level. This paper identifies the poverty alleviation performance status for each area at the indicator level and then offers a corresponding analysis and proposes countermeasures.

Impacts of targeted poverty alleviation on urban-rural residential energy consumption inequality: Evidence from 178 Chinese prefecture-level cities

China's targeted poverty alleviation (TPA) policy is a revolutionary approach to poverty governance with profound implications for eliminating poverty in rural areas. However, previous studies did not explore whether the TPA policy can reduce energy consumption inequality between urban and rural residents (UREI). Therefore, our study aims to investigate the impact of the TPA policy on UREI. We first construct UREI estimates for 178 prefecture-level cities in China covering the period from 2010 to 2020 using the Theil index. We then apply the difference-in-differences (DID) method to examine how the TPA policy affects UREI. Our empirical results confirm that the implementation of the TPA policy can significantly reduce UREI by 0.8%. Moreover, our dynamic effect analysis shows that the TPA policy has a lag effect on UREI that progressively deepens over time. Our heterogeneity analysis further indicates that the TPA policy has a significantly negative impact on UREI in the coastal region, while it has a significantly positive impact in the inland region. Based on these findings, we highlight several relevant policy implications for the Chinese government to enhance the benefits of rural-oriented policies in reducing UREI during the rural revitalization process.

Satisfaction of Livable House Assistance Recipients with the Implementation of the Self-Help Housing Stimulant Assistance Program

The house is one of the primary needs that must be met by Indonesian people who do not meet livable standards. One of the efforts to be carried out in the infrastructure section, aims so that people get a decent place to live. To realize having a livable house must be planned and prepared properly. This research is reviewed from the problem of many houses that do not yet have decent housing standards. The Government's Self-Help Housing Stimulant Assistance (BSPS) is intended to encourage and increase the self-sufficiency of low-income people in improving the quality of their homes, as seen from the quality of roofs, floors and walls of the house along with infrastructure, public facilities and facilities that meet health, safety, comfort requirements. and bathroom facilities. In the BSPS program as an alternative to poverty alleviation policies by providing direct material assistance for the housing construction process. Based on the intent of the BSPS program objectives according to the BSPS program implementation team in Indonesia, especially in Rembang Regency, the aim of the BSPS program is to improve the quality of life of low-income people to obtain livable housing. that most people respond well to the BSPS program in Japrejo Village and Sumberejo Village Recipients of the Self-Help Housing Stimulant Assistance Program (BSPS), however, it is not uncommon for people to refuse due to limited funds which are considered insufficient. Satisfaction of building recipients after receiving assistance from Self-Help Housing Stimulant Assistance (BSPS) in obtaining assistance. Construction/improvement of houses for low-income people to ensure their quality meets the livable requirements of the BSPS program where assessment is carried out in the Structural and Non-Structural sections according to the house criteria livable

Targeted poverty alleviation narrowed China's urban-rural income gap: A theoretical and empirical analysis

Between 2013 and 2020, China implemented targeted poverty alleviation (TPA) policy that leads rural socio-economic development to address poverty, and achieved the co-benefits of eliminating absolute poverty and narrowing the urban-rural income gap (URIG). To data, few studies have assessed the impact of TPA on China's URIG. Here, we first constructed the theoretical framework of TPA in narrowing the URIG. Then, based on the panel data of 2081 counties in China from 2013 to 2020, we used the difference in difference (DID) model and spatial Durbin model (SDM) to assess the impact of TPA on China's URIG. Results show that TPA boosted the per capita disposable income of Chinese rural residents by 9.4% and contributed to more than 30% reduction in the county-level URIG. The effect of TPA on narrowing the URIG had a gradient decrease from the east to the middle and west of China, and from mountains to hills and plains, and that in deeply poverty areas was 2.36 times that of the non-deeply areas. TPA reduced the URIG by spatial spillover effects to promote increasing income from rural residents. The direct effect of TPA on increasing the income of rural residents was 1.8 times the indirect effect.

Reassessing Resettlement-Associated Poverty Induced by Water Conservancy Projects in China: Case Study of the “Yangtze to Huai River Inter-Basin” Water Diversion Project

The displacement and resettlement-associated poverty caused by water conservancy projects (WCP) is a worldwide issue. Re-settlers are often impoverished for extended periods due to loss, difficult re-establishment, and insufficient compensation. Addressing poverty has become a worldwide concern, and accurate measurements of poverty remain a fundamental issue. Before 2020, the Chinese government used the absolute income method to measure re-settler poverty. However, this method reflected neither the overall income gap nor potential benefits of social development and poverty alleviation policies. Therefore, we used the relative income and multidimensional methods alongside the absolute income poverty method to measure the poverty in recently resettled households. Based on survey data from over resettled 1000 households we conclude that: (1) The remaining poor measured by the absolute poverty line were mainly caused by serious diseases, disabilities and loss of labor ability, which means they have no ability to be lifted out of poverty except through the bottom line of local governments. As a result, the absolute poverty line loses its distinction to poverty. (2) Rural re-settlers were more resilient to forced majeure because land guarantees employment and food supply, allowing households to avoid secondary livelihood destruction. (3) Income derived measurement of re-settler poverty masks the benefits of poverty alleviation and other socioeconomic aid programs. A few households showed improvements in child school attendance, child mortality, nutrition, cooking fuel, asset ownership, and social insurance following resettlement. (4) To reduce the multidimensional gap, government aid programs should focus on years of schooling (including training), nutrition, household savings, and household labor force rather than simply providing monetary assistance. At the same time, we suggest that the government adopt a variety of compensation methods, such as: sharing the benefits of water conservancy projects, industrial support and improving the bottom line guarantee.

Influencing Factors of the Post-Relocation Support Policy’s Satisfaction Degree for Rural Household: A Case Study of County M, Sichuan Province

With the decisive results of poverty alleviation in China, figuring out how to consolidate the results and transform them into the driving force of rural revitalization is an important adjustment for rural revitalization and high-quality development. The efficiency of policy implementation as well as the sustainable development of the areas out of poverty are both reflected in rural households’ satisfaction with the ex-suit poverty alleviation policy for relocation. Based on survey data collected from 293 households in County M, Sichuan Province, this paper selects 23 indicators of satisfaction with post-relocation support policies from livelihood capital, political trust, policy participation, and public service perception. On this basis, we use the multinomial logistic model to analyze the impact of each influencing factor on the post-relocation support policy’s satisfaction degree for rural households. The results show that the satisfaction degree of relocated households with post-relocation support policies is upper-middle. Among the livelihood capital of relocated households, the proportion of non-agricultural income, cultivated land area, infrastructure conditions, number of family workers, and number of civil servants are all factors that positively affect policy satisfaction. In addition, with regard to relocating households’ engagement in political trust, policy participation, and public service perception, it should be pointed out that policy results trust, policy understanding, opinions expressed, local government, back-up personnel, policy process, and support funds all have appreciably positive effects on policy satisfaction. These evaluation results can serve as a reference for the revision of post-relocation support policies in China and other developing countries.