Work

Intertemporal deprivation in rural china: income and nutrition

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: We analyse intertemporal poverty in two important dimensions – income and nutrition – in less developed northwest China during 2000–2004. Household intertemporal deprivations in these dimensions are estimated using measures which are sensitive to the precise sequence in which poor and non-poor spells occur. A generalised recursive selection model is then proposed to investigate the determinants of intertemporal deprivation in each dimension, allowing for the possibility that correlated unobservables drive the dual deprivations. Improvement in agricultural production is crucial for reducing both dimensions of intertemporal deprivation. We find evidence suggestive of intertemporal income-nutrition poverty traps. Higher labour productivity, especially in agriculture rather than local off-farm activities or out-migration, holds much potential for breaking the vicious circle. Agricultural innovation and mechanisation, regarded by the government as indispensable, yield mixed outcomes for alleviating intertemporal multi-dimensional deprivations.

Source: The Journal of Economic Inequality

DOI: 10.1007/s10888-017-9352-z

Authors: Jing You, Sangui Wang, Laurence Roope

Institutions: Renmin University of China, University of Oxford

Language: English

Topic: Income, Poverty, and Inequality

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: No poverty, Zero hunger, Decent work and economic growth, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,290