The structure of Chinese poverty, 1988

The structure of poverty in the People's Republic of China is investigated using the Household Income Survey for the reference period of 1988. The pov erty line is set equal to 50 per cent of median income in the entire countr y and a new approach by Jenkins and Lambert (1995, 1997) in aggregating pov erty is used. The results show that, as expected, poverty in China is almos t entirely a rural phenomenon. Poverty is most extensive in the western par t of the country, but nevertheless the rural poor are found all over the co untry. While there is more poverty in areas officially classified as poor a reas than elsewhere, most of the Chinese rural poor do not live in such are as. Further, most persons living in classified poor areas are found to be n ot poor. Poverty status in rural China is found to vary remarkably little b y age or by gender.