The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has experienced unprecedented economic growth and poverty reduction since 1978. Ravallion and Chen (2007), among many other researchers, concluded such transformation was largely due to agriculture growth, especially in the early stage of PRC’s reform era until the mid-1980s. Amid accelerated industrialization and urbanization, the PRC government launched poverty reduction programs for its under-developed western regions in the mid-1980s and rolled out national strategies for poverty alleviation since mid-1990s. When the country introduced an urban-rural coordination strategy in the new century, it also extended social protection schemes from the urban to rural areas in 2007. These programs have offset the moderating effects of slower economic growth in alleviating poverty and contain key lessons for countries considering poverty reduction strategies.

For more information: https://development.asia