Ländliche Armut und ihre Bekämpfung in der VR ChinaWolfgang Taubmann

ASIEN – Nr. 88 (2003) pp. 33–50

Since the economic reforms in the late 1970s the reduction of rural poverty seemed to be one of the most remarkable progresses in China. According to official statistics the number of rural residents below the poverty line declined by 210 million between 1978 and 1998. The paper discusses the regional differentiation of poverty criteria respectively of the poverty stricken areas. The reduction of poverty was especially fast during the first years after the introduction of the household responsibility system and the economic growth. However, after the middle of the eighties the reduction progress decelerated. Therefore, the government started several antipoverty programs, for example the “Food for Work” program in 1984. Since 1986 the central government, provincial governments, different ministries, and international institutions initiated and carried out further programs to reduce rural poverty. These programs and their effects will be analysed. Finally some problems of these programs and presumable consequences of China’s WTO membership will be discussed.