A Geographical Analysis of the Poverty Causes in China’s Contiguous Destitute Areas

Yuan Tian, Zheng Wang, Jincai Zhao, Xuan Jiang and Rongxing Guo ()
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Yuan Tian: Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Zheng Wang: Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Jincai Zhao: School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
Xuan Jiang: School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 6, 1-16

Abstract: One of the most critical development problems in China is the existence of a considerable number of contiguous destitute areas (also known as regional poverty), and the causes behind such regional poverty might structurally differ by geographical characteristics. To deal with the problem, this paper, based on the “Three Nature” theory of New Economic Geography, first establishes an analytical index system of poverty causes, and then uses the gray relational method to identify the causes of poverty in 14 contiguous destitute areas. The results show that, at present, the main poverty causes in the mountain areas in eastern part of China, such as the Dabie mountain area, the Yanshan-Taihang mountain area and the southern Greater Khingan mountain area, are the shortage of human capital and information technology. In contrast, the main factors behind regional poverty in the central mountain areas such as the LuoXiao mountain area, the Lvliang mountain area and the Wuling mountain area are poor transport, locational and other natural factors. The western mountain regions such as Tibet, Tibetan areas in four provinces, South Xinjiang’s three districts and the West Yunnan border area are especially affected by natural endowments, but each area’s specific cause for poverty is different from one another. Finally, this paper discusses relevant policy issues regarding the fact that poverty causes are different by distinct natural factors.

Keywords: three geographical natures; index system; rural poverty reduction; poverty cause (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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