POVERTY ERADICATION BY CHINA
Source: The Indian Express
1. CONTEXT
According to the latest World Bank report on global poverty, India has the most number of poor people.
The report found that the number of Indian living on less than Rs 46 a day increased by 56 million in 2020. Further, it, states that close to 600 million Indians survive on less than Rs 84 a day.
China which is comparable in population size alleviated poverty at historically unprecedented speed and scale between 1978 and 2018.
2. ACHIEVEMENTS
- China suffered very high rates of extreme poverty, higher than India, during Mao Zedong‘s rule until mid-1970. But since the start of the Deng Xiaoping era, the story changed.
- World Bank found that between 1978 and 2018, China’s poverty headcount dropped from 770 million to 5.5 million people.
- Every year China pulled 19 million people out of extreme poverty. In doing so it accounted for almost 75% of the global drop in the number of people living in extreme poverty in this period.
- In 2021, China declared that it has eradicated extreme poverty according to the national poverty threshold, lifting 765 million people since 1978 and that it has built a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
- Improvements in health, education, and income over the four decades are reflected in China's rising position on the Human Development Index from 106 (out of 144 countries) in 1990 to 85 (out of 189 countries) in 2019.
3. PILLARS OF CHINESE SUCCESS
3.1 RAPID ECONOMIC GROWTH
- supported by broad-based economic transformation
- Reforms in the agricultural sector, where poor people benefitted from market incentives
- Development of low-skilled, labour-intensive industries
- Urbanization helped migrants take advantage of new opportunities in the cities and migrant take advantage of the new opportunities in the cities and migrant transfers boosted the incomes of their relatives remaining in the villages.
- Public investment in infrastructure improved living conditions in rural areas but also connected them with urban and export markets.
3.2 GOVERNMENT POLICIES TO ALLEVIATE POVERTY
- Initially, they targeted areas disadvantaged by geography and a lack of economic opportunities but subsequently focused on poor households irrespective of location.
- A component of these policies was social protection policies for poor households, including programs in social assistance, insurance, and welfare.
3.3 EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE
Successful implementation of growth strategy as well as the evolving set of targeted poverty reduction policies.
3.4 DECENTRALISATION
- China‘s size necessitated decentralized implementation arrangements, with significant scope for local experimentation and a high degree of competition among local governments.
- Of course, to achieve coherence, local experimentation was subject to strong monitoring and accountability between levels of government
3.5 HUMAN CAPITAL ENDOWMENT
- In 1949, 7 % of those aged 15-64 had completed primary school in China.
- Massive investment in education and expansion of health care since 1950
- Life expectancy at birth 66 years far exceeded that of other developing countries
- The primary school enrollment rate was 96 % and the secondary school enrollment was 9 %
For Prelims & Mains
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For Prelims: China Economy, World bank Report on Poverty,
For Mains: How did China succeed in poverty reduction successfully and what lessons it holds for India? (250 words)
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