While China’s autocratic government might not be widely endorsed by other developed countries, its recent poverty reduction tactics warrant international recognition.
Globally, recent poverty reduction in China has been the most efficient and effective the world has ever seen. Between 1990 and 2011, China lifted 439 million poor people out of poverty, contributing significantly to global poverty reduction. This feat also made it the first developing country to achieve the first Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty.
China’s extreme success in combating poverty can be attributed to a number of different factors, including increased urbanization and economic growth nationally. However, the Chinese government has played a huge part in poverty reduction by finding novel ways to address the issue. Poverty reduction in China and narrowing the inequality gap is especially important to the country’s communist party as this metric is yet another means of proving the party’s functionality and legitimacy.
Perhaps one of the biggest perks of living in a country where government officials are aware of your every move is that decision-makers get to know individuals and communities very closely. One of the Chinese government’s tactics to stimulate economic growth on a local level is to create individualized anti-poverty plans based on a community or certain family’s needs.
Efforts have been primarily focused in rural communities and in creating jobs for individuals whose farm work does not generate enough to support their families. The Economist interviewed one individual who went by Tian and was recently given a job to grow mushrooms and ornamental plants in a commercial nursery garden. The job was given to him by the local government as part of an anti-poverty program in a rural Chinese community. Through this program, the government will supplement his income to about 20,000 yuan a year, well above the local poverty level.
But Tian’s story is only one example of an individual who has benefitted from anti-poverty programs in China. Other Chinese citizens may suffer handicaps or have special vocational training that allow them to participate in more lucrative work. Further, the government must tailor each program to the individual in order to match their needs and make their efforts sustainable for the future. This system is essentially the opposite of a “trickle-down system” in that it ensures that each individual is directly responsible for generating a certain income on a yearly basis that exceeds the poverty line.
Another benefit of the Chinese government’s infrastructure for poverty reduction is that, while decisions are made at an autocratic level, development is often carried out by local governments without interference from central powers. Local officials help to establish thriving local markets and work with entrepreneurs in the community.
Despite the success of government-led poverty reduction in China, there is significant room for improvement. One criticism of Chinese anti-poverty programs is that they have achieved little relative growth aside from lifting people from right below the poverty line. In other words, many poor people still exist in rural China directly above the poverty line. Further, the average annual income is often combined with those living in large cities which could skew improvements in rural income numbers. The Chinese government must continue its successful programs and create new ones in order to reduce poverty and increase the quality of life for those living in rural China.
– Sarah Coiro
Photo: Flickr