Differences and dynamics of multidimensional poverty in rural China from multiple perspectives analysis

Abstract

Absolute poverty was completely eliminated in China in 2020. However, poverty measured by income does not fully reflect the actual situation. This paper analyses multidimensional poverty and its dynamics in rural China from perspectives of region, terrain, and geographical location during 2010–2018. We use the Chinese Family Panel Survey data, adopt the Alkire-Foster method and improve the multidimensional poverty index (MPI), calculating and comparing multidimensional poverty and its dynamics among 3009 rural households. In addition, the contribution of the indicator to multidimensional poverty is decomposed. The results indicate that multidimensional poverty has obvious regional differences, topographical differences, and geographical differences. Moreover, the targeted poverty alleviation policy has a significant impact on multidimensional poverty eradication, and the rate of decline of the MPI during 2016–2018 is significantly greater than that of 2010–2014. Education contributes more than 50% to the MPI. In general, the proportion of households with persistent multidimensional poverty is higher than temporary multidimensional poverty, and temporary multidimensional poverty is higher than no multidimensional poverty. These results obtained from a large scale, long time and multiple perspectives could offer new insights for the government to further consolidate the results of poverty alleviation while offering China’s experience to other developing countries.