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The 8-7 National Poverty Reduction Program in China: the National Strategy and its Impact

The 8-7 National Poverty Reduction Program in China: the National Strategy and its Impact. Wang Sangui, Li Zhou, Ren Yanshun. Background: Evolution of China ’ s Poverty Reduction Policies.

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The 8-7 National Poverty Reduction Program in China: the National Strategy and its Impact

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  1. The 8-7 National Poverty Reduction Program in China: the National Strategy and its Impact Wang Sangui, Li Zhou, Ren Yanshun

  2. Background: Evolution of China’s Poverty Reduction Policies • During the post-1978 reform period, large-scale poverty reduction benefiting from specific government policies as well as fast economic growth has been one of China’s greatest accomplishments. • Rural poor population decreased from about 200 million in 1981 to 28 million in 2002 (official estimation); • Or from about 490 million to 88 million (1$ one day poverty line).

  3. The Numbers of Poor in China, 1986-2002

  4. Background (Cont.) • China’s poverty reduction policies can roughly be classified into four phases since 1978. • Rural Reform (1978-1985) • The National Targeted Poverty Reduction Programs (1986-1993) • The 8-7 Plan (1994-2000) • Poverty Reduction Strategy in the New Century (2001-2010)

  5. Background (Cont.) • Poverty reduction was much more dramatic in early 1980s and during 1994-1996 when fast economic growth were accompanied by the increases of the rural-urban terms of trade as agricultural prices increased.

  6. Objectives of the 8-7 Plan • The overall objective of the 8-7 Plan was to lift the majority of the remaining 80 million poor above the government’s poverty line during the seven year period 1994-2000. • Where are also a number of specific objectives.

  7. Measures of the 8-7 Plan • Designate 592 national poor counties ; • Assign poverty reduction responsibility to the local governments (“four to provinces”); • Establish a framework for East-West counterpart poverty reduction activities, • Strengthen departmental poverty reduction efforts, • Significantly raise poverty reduction funds., • Introduce tax reduction policies , • Experiment with different poverty reduction approaches, • Encourage international and NGOs to contribute to poverty reduction .

  8. Organizational Structure of the 8-7 Plan

  9. Fund Allocation • RMB 113 billion (or US$ 13.6 billion), or about 5 to 6 percent of total govt. expenditures were funded from the central govt. • The allocation of poverty funds mainly reflected the numbers of poor counties and poor population in each province and the bargaining power of local governments. • Within provinces, allocation to counties followed different criteria. • Fund allocation among sectors is in favor of production activities and infrastructure construction.

  10. The Main Types of Poverty Programs • Subsidized Loans • The subsidized loan program was to support the production activity and economic development of poor areas as well as the poor directly ; • accounting for over one half of the total poverty funds; • Managed by ABC; • Poor targeting and low repayment rate are major problems.

  11. The Main Types of Poverty Programs (Cont.) • Food for Work • The FFW program aimed at making use of surplus labor in poor areas to build infrastructure in poor areas; • the FFW program accounted for nearly 30 percent of the total poverty funds; • Managed by NRDC; • Has done a relatively good job in constructing infrastructure that has benefited poor areas, but could have done better in immediate poverty alleviation.

  12. The Main Types of Poverty Programs (Cont.) • Budgetary Grants • Government budgetary grants supported investment in poor areas including productive construction projects, small-scale infrastructure, basic education and health care, culture promotion, science and technology extension, training and industry promotion ; • accounted for less than 20 percent of the total poverty funds; • MOF has been responsible for the budgetary grants ; • Their effectiveness could have been improved by measures to limit their diversion .

  13. Other poverty reduction efforts • Departmental Efforts • East Supports West • Poverty Reduction Activities of NGOs • Poverty Reduction Activities of International Organizations

  14. Outputs • The magnitude of outputs is enormous . The rural poverty monitoring survey indicates that during 1997-2001: • the 8-7 Plan directly supported 30.7 million households and 125 million persons, • employed 17.24 million workers in poverty reduction activities, • newly developed 3.25 million hectares of cash trees, • 320 thousand km of roads , • 360 thousand km of electricity lines , • drinking water for 53.5 million persons and 48.4 million animals, etc.

  15. Impact • Officially designated “poor” counties delivered higher than average growth in grain and agricultural production, and in household net income. • Empirical analysis shows that household income and consumption in the officially designated “poor” counties grew significantly faster than in other counties. • The rate of return of poverty investments were estimated to be over 10%. • What is not sure is how the benefits are distributed within the county.

  16. Key Factors • Stable political environment and rapid economic growth established an important context for successful poverty reduction. • It is especially agricultural GDP growth that is highly correlated with poverty reduction. • Similarly to the agricultural growth, also the rapid development of the private economic sector contributed to poverty reduction. • Government commitment and the strong resources mobilizing capacity of Chinese government . • The implementation of the 8-7 Plan was supported by a well-established administrative system.

  17. Institutional Innovation • China turned from relief dependent poverty reduction to poverty reduction emphasizing development. • China has moved from purely government-led poverty reduction effort to involving the entire society. • China set up a multi-departmental coordinating mechanism.

  18. Learning and Experimentation • China’ poverty reduction is a process of constant learning and exploration. • There have been a number of changes in poverty reduction project and fund management. • The mode of delivery and management of credit funds for poverty reduction has changed. • China introduced participatory approaches to poverty reduction.

  19. Lessons • Economic Growth Is Critical for Poverty Reduction ; • Basic Insurance Programs Need to Complement Poverty Reduction Effort; • Targeting and Participation of the Poor Matter ; • Objectives Need to Be Clear ; • Human Development Deserves Special Emphasis ; • Poverty Alleviation Requires a Coordinated Effort ; • Poverty Alleviation Effort Should Break the Traditional Rural-Urban Segmentation .

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