No.59, Poverty Gap between Han Chinese and Ethnic Minorities in Rural China: 2002&2013

Liu, Xiaomin; Lv, Lidan
Published: 2016/11/30 21:27:39    Updated time: 2016/11/30 21:27:39

Abstract: The paper investigates the poverty status, trend and its determinants of Han and ethnic minorities in rural China using the CHIP 2002 and CHIP 2013 data. The study finds that household endowments and regional differences mainly lead ethnic minorities and Han households differ. When household endowments and regional differences are being equal, ethnic minorities had even lower probability of falling into absolute poverty than Han households in 2002; and there was no significant difference in probability of f falling into absolute poverty between Han and ethnic minority households in 2013. The decomposition results indicate that higher educational returns for ethnic minorities was the major reason makes the ethnic minorities had lower probability of falling into poverty than Han households in 2002. In sum, the supportive policy from both central and local governments is effective to reduce the poverty for ethnic minorities and ethnic minority areas. The study provides some policy implications for China to get ridding of poverty, in particular for ethnic minority areas. There could be more supports for ethnic minority areas, expand the policy implementation in ethnic minority area. We also suggest improving the educational achievement for people living in poverty. All the ethnic minority children from household under poverty should have equitable access to qualified education and increase their returns from education.
Keywords: Poverty incidence; Ethnic difference; Poverty determinants

Authors:

Liu, Xiaomin (Ethnology and Anthropology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

Lv, Lidan (Population and Development Research Center, Renmin University, Beijing, China)

1. Introduction

Restricted by natural resources, geography location and historical and cultural factors, economic in ethnic minority areas have always been underdeveloped. After the foundation of People's Republic of China in 1949, based on the multi-ethnic realities and existing issues for the ethnic minorities, the state council adopted affirmative policy for ethnic minority areas, later the affirmative policy has been enriched into a diversified policy system1 to boost the economic development of the ethnic minority areas. After the 2000, state council implemented the Western Development, which includes all five autonomous regions, 30 autonomous prefectures and most of the 120 autonomous counties. Even for the autonomous counties that are not included in Western Development, got similar policy support as well. The first 21th century Central Ethnic Work Conference was held in 2005 and published the "CPC Central Committee and State Council on further strengthening the work of National Economic and Social Development of Ethnic Areas " (Zhongfa〔2005〕No.10). Later, the State Council introduced a series of policies to support the economic development of ethnic minorities and minority areas. For example, policies promote Tibetan development in border areas of Tibet, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan and Qinghai provinces; and policy to support the production and trade for national commodity.2 All the preferential policies bring a leap-forward development in ethnic areas. After more than 10 years’ implementation of Western Development and other supportive policies, ethnic minorities and ethnic areas make large progress, income and living quality for all ethnic groups living in Western ethnic areas have been greatly improved, more people are out of poverty. According to Chinese poverty line, from 2000-2014, people living in poverty decreased from 31.44 million to 22.05 million3 in eight ethnic minority provinces4. However, due to various reasons, eight ethnic minority provinces still face some challenges in reducing poverty. According to the national poverty line from 2000-2010, in eight ethnic minority provinces the proportion of people living in poverty rose from 33.4% to 38.5%; from 2011 to 2015, the proportion of people living in poverty in eight provinces rose from 32% to 32.5%.5 At the end of 2015, in rural areas of eight ethnic minority provinces , percentage of people living in poverty was almost twice of the national number.6 "China Rural Poverty Alleviation and Development Program (2011-2020)" designates 14 impoverished areas, except the Luliang Mountain, Dabie Mountain and Luoxiao Mountain, which are three old revolutionary ares; the remaining 11 areas are inhabits for ethnic minorities. That is to say, in the new period people living in poverty are still mainly live in the ethnic minority areas. In summary, rural ethnic minority areas have higher poverty rate than national average; and ethnic minority living in rural areas have higher poverty rate than Han. So the questions for this chapter are what is the trend and what are the main factors leading to this trend under the context of supportive policies for ethnic minority areas?

Eighteenth Communist Party of China Central Committee of the Fifth Plenary Session communique starts from unequivocal achieve comprehensive well-off society, clearly addresses that under the current standards, by 2020 rural Chinese now living in poverty will go out of poverty, and the poverty counties need to get ridding of poverty, and regional poverty issues need to be solved. The above situation shows that rural poverty is the biggest weakness of achieving comprehensive well-off society in China, and it is also the restriction of achieving comprehensive well-off society in China. Above situation prominently emphases the critical and difficulties for reducing poverty in China is in rural areas, especially in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities. The in-depth study for rural China, especially for ethnic minorities and ethnic minority areas have great academic value and practical significance.

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1Including central fiscal and taxation policies supporting development of ethnic ghettos, open door policy, pro-poor policy, environment policy, industrial policy and regional support policy. See also: Wei, and Cheng Aihua, and Zhang Dongmei: the central support of national community development policy studies, Journal of Central South University for nationalities (Humanities and social sciences), 2012, 1th。

2Yang Jing: The State Council on accelerating the ethnic minorities and ethnic minority inhabited areas report of the work of the economic and social development, national people's Congress Standing Committee of Bulletin of the 2011·1.

3Data source: National Statistics Bureau: China Statistical Yearbook, the Minister of the economic development division of • 2015: The State Ethnic Affairs Commission issued: 2014 of surveillance results ofrural poverty in ethnic minority-inhabited areas, http://www.SEAC.gov.CN/art/2015/4/15/art_31_225897.html. The results are based on authors own calculations.

4 Xinjiang, Ningxia, Guangxi, Inner Mongolis, Tibet, Yunnan, Guizhou and Qinghai are general called eight ethnic minority provinces.

5 Data source: National Statistics Bureau: China Statistical Yearbook, the Minister of the economic development division of • 2015: The State Ethnic Affairs Commission issued: 2014 of surveillance results ofrural poverty in ethnic minority-inhabited areas, http://www.SEAC.gov.CN/art/2015/4/15/art_31_225897.html. The results are based on authors own calculations.

6 Data source: National Statistics Bureau: China Statistical Yearbook, the Minister of the economic development division of • 2015: The State Ethnic Affairs Commission issued: 2014 of surveillance results ofrural poverty in ethnic minority-inhabited areas, http://www.SEAC.gov.CN/art/2015/4/15/art_31_225897.html. The results are based on authors own calculations.