This book explores China’s unique approach to tackling poverty. Blending economic, social, political, cultural, and environmental strategies, it offers fresh insights into tackling poverty in all its forms.
Viewing poverty as a complex social phenomenon, the author first categorises the root causes of poverty in China into five types. In order to combat poverty, China has implemented various measures, including institutional reforms, infrastructure expansion, population relocation, and targeted support for ethnic groups. The focus has shifted from solutions dependent on external aid to a self-sustaining approach that empowers individuals and communities. The book documents China’s experience of eradicating poverty with the support of social networks in rural areas, including cooperatives, mutual funds and community-based organisations, and illustrates how isolated individuals were transformed into cohesive groups capable of sustainable development. It also emphasises the importance of institutional innovation, cultural revitalisation, and social organisation for achieving long-term poverty reduction. Drawing on China’s experience, the study provides a valuable framework for addressing global poverty and strategies for tackling its complex manifestations.
This book will be of interest to scholars, students, and policymakers studying development, international development, economics, political economy, and China’s experience of poverty governance.
Table of Contents:
1. Poverty and Fighting Poverty in China: The Aetiology and Typology of Poverty 2. Framework of China’s Poverty Alleviation Policy: Evolution and Institutional Innovation (1949–2020) 3. Rural Revitalisation Strategy and Transformation of Poverty Alleviation in China 4. Theory and Practice of Poverty Alleviation through Social Networks 5. Endogenous Poverty Alleviation: Foundation, Mechanisms, and Measures 6. Microfinance and Mechanism Innovation of Poverty Reduction 7. Farmers’ Cooperatives and Poverty Reduction 8. Community-initiated Development and Poverty Alleviation through Social Networks 9. Farmers’ Mutual Aid Funds and Poverty Alleviation 10. Democratic and Political Governance and Poverty Alleviation in Rural China 11. The Collective Economy and Poverty Alleviation in Rural China 12. Inclusive Financial System in Border Areas Inhabited by Ethnic Minorities and Poverty Reduction 13. Diversified Poverty Reduction Models in Ethnic Minority Areas 14. Regional Innovations and Future Avenues of Poverty Alleviation in China 15. Poverty Reduction and Ecosystem Protection in China 16. Relocation and Poverty Alleviation
About the Author :
Wang Shuguang is a Professor in the Department of Finance at Peking University, China. His research interests are rural finance, financial ethics, international finance market, and China’s reform of financial systems and financial liberalisation theory.
