Achievements and Outlook of China’s Multidimensional Poverty Reduction

Chen Yanfeng and Xia Qingjie
School of Economics, Peking University, Beijing, China

Abstract: Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese government has made great achievements in reducing poverty through human capital development (education, healthcare, gender equality, maternal and infant health, and prevention and treatment of iodine deficiency), infrastructure construction (transportation, electric power, ICT application and access to safe drinking water), improvement of living conditions (toilet hygiene, stove renovation and resettlement) and rural social security (“five-guarantees” system, subsistence allowance, rural pension insurance, natural disaster relief and agricultural insurance). Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the Chinese government has made remarkable progress in eradicating poverty and enhancing village governance. However, serious challenges will still exist after China’s poverty eradication in 2020 and may lead to re-impoverishment.

Keywords: multidimensional poverty reduction, poverty reduction through human capital, poverty reduction through infrastructure construction, poverty reduction through improvement of living conditions, poverty reduction through social security

JEL Classification Codes: I30, I00, H50, B20
DOI:1 0.19602/j .chinaeconomist.2019.3.041