Transformation Of Rural Poverty

Anti-poverty in rural China has achieved great progress since the implementation of the reform and opening up policy. However, we must notice that absolute poverty in rural China hasn't been completely annihilated, which entails an over-all comprehension of the absolute poverty problem so as to find viable countermeasures in rural China. The dissertation, aiming to analyze the problem of poverty in rural China in an all-round way, falls into five parts. The first chaprter serves as the introduction. The second provides a theoretical review of the studies on poverty. And then in the third chapter, the author narrows down to the presentation of the current situation of poverty in China. Chapter four focus on the causal factors of poverty in rural China during the transformation period, especially in the recent ten years, with some concrete countermeasures proposed in the last chapter. The specific contents are as follows:Firstly, the dissertation discusses the background and significance of the research, its approaching methods, train of thought, the innovation, deficiency, as well as the current situation of poverty in rural China. In the theoretical review, the paper retrospects the definition of poverty theory, poverty line and its measuring method, with some elaboration on the poverty genetic theory and the anti-poverty theory. As for the definition of poverty, the author introduces its narrow sense definition, broad sense definition, the definition of World Bank and other international organizations, as well as the domestic definition of poverty. Afer sorting out and concentrating the above definitions, the dissertation realizes: poverty is a kind of living and developing state, in which individuals and families struggle for basic means of subsistences, and as is often the case, their dilemmas can by no means be changed individually. The society should offer a helping hand, or else a series of social and economic problems may occur. Of the poverty line and the calculation of the degree of poverty, the paper introduces four measuring methods, on the basis of which, a detailed mathematic reasoning concerning FGT is put forward. The poverty genetic theory contains the theory of element deficiency, the theory of systematic disadvantages, poverty demography and poverty sociology. The anti-poverty theory is mainly the one that serves to promotes economy and stuctural transition.Secondly, the dissertation presents a panoramic analysis of the poverty in rural China during the transitional period. It is followed by a detailed mathematic reasoning of FGT index. The dissertation introduces four methods of measuring the degree of poverty and then deduces how to calculate FGT poverty index with method formulae. By using grouping income data in statistical yearbooks of China and every province, the dissertation calculates rural poverty index, such as FGT index, then decomposes the change into the influence of economic increase and income distribution. To better grasp the over-all poverty situation in rural China, the dissertation not only analyzes the change of rural poverty in different periods, but also compares rural poverty in different economic areas. Thus a natural conclusion is drawn: though Chinese rural anti-poverty has made great progress, it has been affected by economic development and economic policy, and the regional differences were great, the accomplishments of anti-poverty were uneven. So we must analyze the reasons of poverty currently and work out proper countermeasures.Thirdly, the dissertation approaches the causal factors of poverty in rural China during the transformation period, especially in the recent ten years from the aspects of peasants' income, unbalanced territorial development, peasants' money-making ability, ect.. The author attributes the main reason of rural poverty to such aspects as China's over-emphasis on GDP; China's "race-to-the-bottom" competition; unfavorable natural environment; unbalanced distribution of rural migrant workers. Besides, the development policy of our nation centers urban areas, and this territory bias renders an inequality in rural residents' income. The city and countryside dual structure in economical system restricts peasants from gaining benefits, and the deficiencies in the rural economical and political system, together with some unfavorable personal and family elements, predetermine the disability of those peasants.Finally, the dissertation proposes some general countermeasures and some regional focal points to ameliorate rural poverty in China. The author holds that favorable anti-poverty environmental and systematic conditions are constructed so as to strengthen the poor's ability to prosper. As for the major districts, the author suggests that a further analysis be conducted, on the basis on which, each province determines to focus on either income-increasing or income-redistributing. It is believed that the sustained economical development is the precondition of the proper solution of the anti-poverty task. While economical increase is considered as the priority, impartiality, human being's quality and the interaction between the city and the countryside should also be paid due attention to. In short, the success of the task of anti-poverty in rural China requests a harmonious environment in which industry promotes agriculture, the city provides impetus to the countryside.