Targeted Poverty Alleviation Policy Research Articles

“Although Burdened, Do We Need to Do More?” Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Organizational Citizenship Behaviors in Poverty Alleviation Policy Implementation

Drawing on attentional resource allocation theory and transaction cost theory, this study links street-level bureaucrats’ problem-solving organizational citizenship behaviors with perceived administrative burden. Based on 28 in-depth interviews and 657 survey responses from street-level bureaucrats involved in China’s Targeted Poverty Alleviation Policy during 2019 and 2020, the study found positive relationships between problem-solving organizational citizenship behaviors, resource deficiency, bureaucratic control, and perceived administrative burden. Policymakers should be cautious when using control tools and avoid exploiting street-level bureaucrats’ commitment and compassion for clients to ensure effectively policy implementation and reduce administrative burdens on dedicated public servants.

Impact of the targeted poverty alleviation policy on older adults’ healthcare utilization: A quasi-experimental analysis from China

China implemented the Targeted Poverty Alleviation (TPA) policy in 2015 to fight against poverty. In order to assess the health performance of the TPA policy, this study aims to evaluate the impact of the TPA policy on healthcare utilization among older adults who normally have higher vulnerability to poverty and diseases. Drawing on data from four waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), we investigated the impact of the TPA policy on older individuals' outpatient and inpatient utilization using the difference-in-differences (DID) approach. In total, 5285 older respondents were incorporated into a final sample. The results indicated that the implementation of the TPA policy had a significantly positive impact on increasing inpatient care utilization for poor older adults. However, its impact on outpatient service utilization was not significant. To ensure that the increased level of inpatient care utilization was not caused by deteriorating health status, we further analyzed the impact of the TPA policy on poor older adults’ health outcomes. Results indicated that the TPA policy improved self-rated health and reduced the number of ADL limitations among older adults in registered poor households. The positive impact of the TPA policy on inpatient care utilization was found to be most beneficial for older adults in poor households who were female, coupled, and aged 70 years and above. The TPA policy in China improved healthcare access for economically disadvantaged older adults and contributed to the enhancement of their health outcomes. This evidence may have broad implications for other low- and middle-income countries aiming to reduce poverty and achieve health equity.

Explore Agenda Setting of Targeted Poverty Alleviation Policy: An Analysis Based on Difference-in-Difference Regression Model and Multiple Streams Framework

Although China's economy has developed rapidly in the past few decades, meanwhile, the poverty alleviation policies in China for poor rural areas have been adjusted and improved to achieve common prosperity. In particular, the targeted poverty alleviation policy has eliminated absolute poverty, which is a remarkable achievement in history. Therefore, why the targeted poverty alleviation policy emerged and how it was agenda-setting are the research questions of this article. An analysis combining the Difference-in-Difference Model and the Multiple Streams Approach is used to explain the agenda-setting of targeted poverty alleviation policy in China. The study concludes that although the poverty alleviation policy of the previous stage has promoted the economic development of poor counties, there was an increasingly widening economic development gap between urban and rural. This paper suggests that the strong political stream is a significant factor for policy change and the political elite leads the people to unite to get rid of absolute poverty and improve the quality of life of the poor people, which explains the agenda setting of targeted poverty alleviation policy.

Does Targeted Poverty Alleviation Policy Reduce Poverty? Evidence From Rural China

Poverty is a common challenge faced by human beings. China’s Targeted Poverty Alleviation (TPA) policy provides the international community with a Chinese solution to poverty governance. Based on the goal of China’s TPA policy of “Two No Worries, Three Guarantees,” this paper selects appropriate indicators to evaluate the implementation effect of China’s TPA policy since 2013. The results show that there are significant differences between poor families and non-poor families in food consumption, clothing consumption, education, and housing. After the implementation of the TPA policy, the gap between poor families and non-poor families has been significantly reduced. However, from the perspective of per capita household consumption, there is still a certain gap between poor families and non-poor families, and it is still necessary to maintain the continuity to further improve the living standards of low-income families. JEL Classification: I32

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.

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.

Assessment of the effects of targeted poverty alleviation policy on differently poverty‐stricken households: A multi‐propensity score weighting model

AbstractEliminating poverty is a multifaceted global challenge and a focal point of global development governance. With the implementation of targeted poverty alleviation (TPA), China's poverty alleviation efforts have had significant achievements. This study provides a new perspective by classifying poverty‐stricken households based on poverty root causes at the household level, a multi‐propensity score weighting model based on counterfactual inference is employed to examine the poverty reduction effect and policy precision on six non‐equivalent poverty‐stricken household groups in a Chinese county. The results reveal that the poverty reduction effects differed among poverty‐stricken households with different root causes of poverty. Specifically, households impoverished due to disability have the lowest income of the six groups. The assistance policy effects also vary significantly and are found to be poorly suited to poverty‐stricken households a lack of labor force and funds. A robustness test confirms this conclusion and a more nuanced analysis reveals that these differences are reflected in the wage and transfer incomes. Therefore, to ensure the stability of poverty reduction and the sustainability of income for poverty‐stricken households, relevant associated aid policies need to place different emphases based on their household characteristics.

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

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.

Reducing rural income inequality and its spatial convergence in China during the past two decades

Rural poverty and inequality are still big challenges for the world sustainable development. China has eliminated absolute poverty and reduced regional rural income inequality over the past two decades. To explain the spatial convergence of China’ rural income inequality, a comprehensive framework was proposed based on the convergence hypothesis. We examined the spatial convergence and influencing factors of rural income inequality using province-level panel data from 2001 to 2020. The findings showed that China's rural income inequality generally decreased from 2001 to 2010, the contribution rate of inter-regional rural income inequalities is he highest. There was a significant spatial β convergence of rural income change, indicating that rural income inequality in China has been effectively reduced and a catch-up effect has been created in low-income rural areas with a higher income growth rate. Social security and human capital factors play key roles in reducing regional rural inequality, especially in poor western regions. Meanwhile, China's targeted poverty alleviation policy amplified the positive impact on rural income convergence, and low-income regions benefited more from the policy. Then several suggestions were proposed for developing countries to reduce rural inequality and poverty.

Analysis on the Effect of the Targeted Poverty Alleviation Policy on Narrowing the Urban-Rural Income Gap: An Empirical Test Based on 124 Counties in Yunnan Province

China’s targeted poverty-alleviation policy has eliminated absolute poverty and become the focus of world attention. However, a relative-poverty problem still exists in China, and the large urban–rural income gap is an important issue. Whether the implementation of the targeted poverty-alleviation policy has narrowed the urban–rural income gap, along with its specific effects, requires an accurate analysis, which is particularly critical in order for China to implement a rural-revitalization strategy and further eliminate relative poverty in the future. Given the problems and shortcomings of the existing studies, such as not passing the parallel trend test to overestimate the policy effect, in this study we refer to the previous results, and our analyses divide the 124 counties in Yunnan province into four categories: non-poverty counties and counties with grade-I, grade-II, and grade-III poverty. We selected the panel data of the urban–rural income ratio of each county along with eight influencing factors from 2011 to 2020 for difference-in-difference model (DID) analysis. In this study, we compare the four types of counties level-by-level, and we construct a full-sample spatial DID model. The estimated results, after excluding the impact of COVID-2019, are significant. In addition, we perform robustness and placebo tests and other work on the DID model. All of the results show that the implementation of the targeted poverty-alleviation policy has effectively reduced the urban–rural income ratio in areas experiencing poverty. Finally, we use the intermediary effect analysis method to explore the reasons for the findings: driven by the targeted poverty-alleviation policy, the financial investment in poor areas has substantially increased, further increasing the income level of rural residents in poor areas and thus promoting a notable reduction in the income gap between urban and rural residents in poor areas. We suggest that, although China has achieved comprehensive success in targeted poverty-alleviation, assistance investment still needs to be increased, policies must be adjusted, and income growth must be accelerated to achieve industrial prosperity.

How Can the Rule of Law Help Targeted Poverty Alleviation

In the new era, poverty alleviation work is guided by precision poverty alleviation, with "true poverty alleviation and poverty alleviation" as its core. When implementing the targeted poverty alleviation policy, no matter from the precise identification or assistance measures and the setting of the assessment mechanism, specific legal guidelines are needed. Poverty reduction by the rule of law can not only make precision poverty alleviable by law, but also enable citizens to safeguard their due rights through the law. At the same time, poverty reduction by the rule of law has higher requirements for the legal literacy of poverty alleviation workers in order to better implement " Seek truth from facts and adapt to local conditions."

Do visiting monks give better sermons? “Street‐level bureaucrats from higher‐up” in targeted poverty alleviation in China

AbstractIn those countries lacking democratic institutions and with weak professional bureaucracy and low governance capacity at the rural grassroots level, do different types of street‐level bureaucrats (SLBs) exist? If so, how do they work? To answer these questions, this article constructs an institution‐practice framework to understand the different types of SLBs. Based on fieldwork in three Chinese counties concerning their implementation of the Targeted Poverty Alleviation Policy, we found that the street‐level bureaucracy from higher‐up is the key to addressing China’s inadequate street‐level governance capacity. The organizational structure, mechanisms, and strategies of SLBs from higher‐up are differ from other types of SLBs. The institutional arrangements of the SLBs from higher‐up are campaign‐style and informal; their institutional mechanisms are mainly idea loading and carrying, and policy learning; their motivation is politicalized, that is, they are politically committed and incentivized; they are also coping, but they are entrepreneurs. The SLBs from higher‐up expands our understanding of the street‐level bureaucracy as it relates to institutional embeddedness, diversified types, and escaping the trap of street‐level governance capacity limitations.

Evaluating the effect of China’s targeted poverty alleviation policy on credit default: a regression discontinuity approach

ABSTRACT Although the literature has found that targeted poverty alleviation (TPA) policy has many positive effects, whether it has a negative impact on farmers’ credit has been under-analyzed. A regression discontinuity approach has been employed to estimate the TPA policy’s causal effects on credit default because the registered poor farmer was primarily determined by whether a farmer’s pre-policy income fell below a given poverty line. Using data from China Household Finance Survey in 2015 and 2017, we have found that China’s registered poor farmers have a higher probability of credit default. This is because registered poor farmers protected by TPA policy pursue higher risk economic activities, leading to a higher credit default. Further analysis has shown that credit default broadly occurs in married registered poor farmers. In contrast, it rarely occurs among those with high social capital. Our empirical results have suggested the Chinese government should improve the identification rules of registered poor farmers, such as subjective psychology, and strengthen the monitoring system of their participation in economic activities.

TARGETED POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND STOCK PRICE CRASH RISK: EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

Using manually collected samples on voluntary targeted poverty alleviation of 3418 Chinese firms for the period 2016–2019, we explore the impact of targeted poverty alleviation actions of listed companies on the stock price crash risk. Results show that listed companies participating in targeted poverty alleviation exhibited a lower risk of stock price crash risk; this conclusion is still valid after a series of robustness and endogeneity tests. This paper further explored its internal transmission routes. We found that the response of a public company to the targeted poverty alleviation policy will increase its positive coverages and plays the role of information intermediary and public supervision of media. Thus, the company’s behavior of hiding bad news is curtailed, and its future stock price crash risk is significantly reduced. For the government, China’s targeted poverty alleviation strategy is worthy of reference, while getting rid of poverty, the stock price crash risk of participating companies has also been effectively suppressed.

Poverty Mapping in the Dian-Gui-Qian Contiguous Extremely Poor Area of Southwest China Based on Multi-Source Geospatial Data

Accurate information on the spatial distribution of poverty is of great significance to the formulation and implementation of the government’s targeted poverty alleviation policy. Traditional poverty mapping is mainly based on household survey data and statistical data, which cannot describe the spatial distribution of poverty well. This paper presents a study of mapping the integrated poverty index (IPI) in the Dian-Gui-Qian contiguous extremely poor area of southwest China. Based on multiple independent spatial variables extracted from NPP/VIIRS nighttime light (NTL) remote sensing data, digital elevation model (DEM), land cover information, open street map, and city accessibility data, eight algorithms were employed and compared to determine the optimal model for IPI estimation. Among these machine learning algorithms, traditional multiple linear regression had the lowest accuracy compared with the other seven machine learning algorithms and XGBoost showed the best performance. Feature selection was performed to reduce overfitting and five variables were finally selected. The final developed XGBoost model achieved an MAE of 0.0454 and an R2 of 0.68. The IPI map derived from the developed XGBoost model characterized the spatial pattern of poverty in the Dian-Gui-Qian contiguous extremely poor area well, which provided a good reference for the poverty alleviation work and public resources allocation in the study area. This study can also serve as a template for poverty mapping in other areas using remote sensing data.

Where to donate: The geographical distribution of corporate philanthropy in China

An emerging body of literature has demonstrated that corporate philanthropy can be an important part of a company’s business strategy. However, we know relatively little about how companies allocate philanthropic resources to achieve their strategic targets. Using geographical distribution data on corporate philanthropy in China from 2009 to 2016, we provide robust evidence of companies’ revenue-driven regional favoritism. Specifically, companies donate more to regions where they obtain revenue than to other regions. Further evidence suggests that this revenue-driven regional favoritism may have both reputational and political motivations. Further analysis suggests that China’s targeted poverty alleviation policy has compromised revenue-driven regional favoritism while increasing the amount of money donated to poor regions. Overall, we enrich understanding of decision-making on corporate philanthropy. We also demonstrate that companies can use the geographical distribution of corporate philanthropy strategically to obtain consumer and government favor in regions where they operate. The results also provide evidence at the micro company level of the effect of China’s implementation of a targeted poverty alleviation policy.

Research on the Impact of Preferential Tax Policies on Agricultural Industrialization under the Background of Poverty Alleviation

Based on agriculture, the development of agriculture is vital to the development of my country's national economy. It is also related to the overall development of winning the battle against poverty and building a well‐off society in an all‐round way. As an important lever to regulate the economy, taxation policy is an important link in the targeted poverty alleviation policy and a strong support for the development of agricultural industrialization. This article is one of the research results of the national college student innovation and entrepreneurship project ＂Tangerine Country Supporting Agriculture, Tangerine Fragrant Self＂ that the author's team successfully applied in 2020 .This article will take the poverty alleviation strategy as the background, according to the implementation of the current agricultural tax preferential policies. Analyze the role of preferential agricultural taxation policies in promoting the development of agricultural industrialization, reducing the tax burden of agricultural producers, and improving economic growth. In addition, the relevant policy recommendations are put forward based on the problems of scattered preferential policies, not implemented in practice, and small preferential scope during the implementation of tax preferential policies. Give full play to the role of preferential taxation policies in the field of helping farmers and poverty alleviation, and better promote the development of agricultural sustainability and industrialization.

Does Income Inequality Impair Health? Evidence from Rural China

In the context of the Healthy China strategy and the targeted poverty alleviation policy, based on the survey data of 1710 apple planters in Shandong, Yunnan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces, we selected the Probit model and the mediating effect test model to analyze the impact of income inequality on the self-rated health of farmers in this paper. The main results are as follows: First, income inequality within villages and townships had a significant negative impact on self-rated health, with both showing inverted U-shaped relationships, while income inequality within counties had no significant impact on self-rated health. Second, income inequality can impact the health of farmers, in terms of tobacco and alcohol behaviors, social trust, and sense of relative deprivation, where the mediating effect ratio of these three factors combined accounted for 32.4% of the total effect. Furthermore, the effect of income inequality on health was heterogeneous among different income groups, where the negative impact of income inequality on the self-rated health of the high-income group was less than that of the low-income group, indicating that an increase in income inequality serves to aggravate the degree of health inequality. Therefore, the government should adopt differentiated policies to improve the health of farmers. In rural areas with high income inequality, the government should focus on increasing the income of low-income groups, guide them to develop a healthy lifestyle, improve their social trust, and reduce their sense of relative deprivation. In rural areas where incomes are generally low, the government should first guide qualified farmers to become rich, then encourage others to become rich later.

Impact of targeted poverty alleviation policy on the urban-rural income gap in national poverty-stricken counties

Impact of targeted poverty alleviation policy on the urban-rural income gap in national poverty-stricken counties

Financial support and financial well-being for vocational school students in China

To address persistent and widespread poverty across China, particularly in rural areas, the Chinese government initiated the Targeted Poverty Alleviation Policy. As a result, several programs have been established to provide financial support to students from low-income families. This study used a primary dataset that came from senior students at a vocational school in Sichuan province to examine the relationship between financial support programs and the financial well-being of vocational school students. The results indicate that the receipt of cash assistance for education and the amount received were both associated with financial well-being of the students. In addition, the effects of the policy on students’ financial well-being differed by their poverty status – students who were previously in poverty but were no longer living in poverty reported greater financial well-being than those who were still living in poverty at the time of data collection. Policy implications are discussed.