Research on the Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty in Rural China Based on Sustainable Livelihood Analysis Framework: A Case Study of Six Poverty-Stricken Counties

Xiaoying Wu, Xinhua Qi, Shan Yang, Chao Ye and Biao Sun
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Xiaoying Wu: School of Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
Xinhua Qi: School of Geographic Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China
Shan Yang: School of Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
Chao Ye: School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
Biao Sun: School of Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-22

Abstract: China’s complicated and diverse poverty problems gradually emerged as poverty alleviation efforts deepened and rural urbanization progressed. Among these problems, the intergenerational transmission of poverty (ITP) is the most prominent and is an entrenched issue in rural China. This study selects six typical poverty-stricken counties in the eastern, central, and western regions of China on the basis of geography and uses the transformation matrix method and a regression model to analyze the regional differentiation characteristics of ITP. We further explore its impact mechanisms based on a sustainable livelihood analysis framework with the following results: (1) ITP in rural China exhibits the phenomenon of income-stratified transmission, and the groups at both ends of the low-income spectrum are more prone to having ITP; (2) ITP and the intergenerational mobility of income for different income levels have different spatial distribution characteristics, with these intergenerational relationships exhibiting a reverse variation trend in the eastern region, while exhibiting a codirectional variation trend in the central and western regions; (3) there are differences in the subsistence livelihood capital, which affect ITP in different regions. Financial capital has a significant impact on ITP across all of China. Natural capital has a significant impact on the eastern region, and physical capital plays a significant role in the central region, while the western region is greatly affected by both human and physical capital. In view of the differences in the influence of livelihood capital on ITP in different regions, China should formulate policies to accurately address ITP in order to narrow regional differences and accelerate the comprehensive construction of a financially affluent society.

Keywords: sustainable livelihoods; participatory rural assessment; intergenerational transmission of poverty; rural poverty in China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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