Please wait a minute...
Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2023, Vol. 22 Issue (12): 3582-3595    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2023.10.037
Special Focus: Accelerating Rural Transformation in Asian Developing Countries Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Rural transformation, income growth, and poverty reduction by region in China in the past four decades
SHI Peng-fei1, 2, HUANG Ji-kun1#

1China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P.R.China

2Research Center for Rural Economy, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100810, P.R.China

Download:  PDF in ScienceDirect  
Export:  BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      
摘要  过去40年,中国经历了快速的农村转型。与快速转型相伴而生的是农民家庭收入的显著增加和农村贫困人口的大幅减少。本文基于省级数据考察了农村转型(高值农业和农村非农就业)及其效果(农民人均收入和农村贫困发生率)的演变与关系。结果表明:各省都发生了显著的农村转型,但转型的水平和速度存在较大差异。此外,农村转型水平越高的省,农民收入越高、农村贫困发生率越低。需要说明的是,本文也根据高值农业和农村非农就业分析了省际农村转型的类型。本文还进一步讨论了制度、政策和投资(IPIs)对农村转型的潜在影响并总结了政策启示。

Abstract  

China has experienced rapid rural transformation in the past four decades.  Accompanying the rapid transformation is a significant rise in rural household income and a substantial fall in rural poverty.  This paper examines the evolutions of and the relationships between rural transformation (high-value agriculture and rural non-farm employment) and its outcomes (per capita rural income and rural poverty incidence) using provincial-level ata.  The results show that 31 provinces/autonomous regions/municipalities have undergone significant rural transformation, but the level and speed of rural transformation differed considerably.  Moreover, an increased level of rural transformation is often associated with higher per capita rural income and reduced rural poverty incidence.  Notably, a category of provincial rural transformation based on high-value agriculture and rural non-farm employment is also analyzed.  We further discuss the likely impacts of institutions, policies, and investments (IPIs) on rural transformation and conclude with policy implications.

Keywords:  rural transformation       high-value agriculture       non-farm employment       income       poverty       China  
Received: 13 February 2023   Accepted: 10 August 2023
Fund: The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ADP/2017/024), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71934003), the National Social Science Fund of China (19ZDA002 and 22CJL003), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (2000000866).

Cite this article: 

SHI Peng-fei, HUANG Ji-kun. 2023. Rural transformation, income growth, and poverty reduction by region in China in the past four decades. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 22(12): 3582-3595.

Anderson K, Huang J K, Ianchovichina E. 2004. Will China’s WTO accession worsen farm household income? China Economic Review, 15, 443–456.

Barrett C B, Christian P, Shiferaw B A. 2017. The structural transformation of African agriculture and rural spaces: introduction to a special section. Agricultural Economics, 48, 5–10.

Belton B, Filipski M. 2019. Rural transformation in central Myanmar: by how much, and for whom? Journal of Rural Studies, 67, 166–176.

Cai F, Wang M Y. 2010. Growth and structural changes in employment in transition China. Journal of Comparative Economics, 38, 71–81.

Dawe D. 2015. Agricultural transformation of middle-income Asian economies: diversification, farm size and mechanization. ESA Working Paper, 15–04.

Fan S G. 1997. Production and productivity growth in Chinese agriculture: new measurement and evidence. Food Policy, 22, 213–228.

Fan S G, Cho E E, Rue C. 2018. Returns to public agricultural and rural investments in China. China Agricultural Economic Review, 10, 215–223.

FAO. 2017. The State of Food and Agriculture: Leveraging Food System for Inclusive Rural Transformation. FAO, Rome.

Gao L L, Huang J K, Rozelle S. 2012. Rental markets for cultivated land and agricultural investments in China. Agricultural Economics, 43, 391–403.

Huang J K. 2018a. Facilitating inclusive rural transformation in the Asian countries. World Food Policy, 4, 31–55.

Huang J K. 2018b. Key issues on supply-side structural reform in agriculture: government functions and market roles. Chinese Rural Economy, 2, 2–14. (in Chinese)

Huang J K, Ding J P. 2016. Institutional innovation and policy support to facilitate small-scale farming transformation in China. Agricultural Economics, 47, 227–237.

Huang J K, Rozelle S. 1996. Technological change: the re-discovery of the engine of productivity growth in China’s rice economy. Journal of Development Economics, 49, 337–369.

Huang J K, Rozelle S. 2006. The emergence of agricultural commodity markets in China. China Economic Review, 17, 266–280.

Huang J K, Rozelle S. 2018. China’s 40 years of agricultural development and reform. In: Garnaut R, Song L, Cai F, eds., China’s 40 Years of Reform and Development: 1978–2018. Australian National University Press, Canberra. pp. 487–506.

Huang J K, Shi P F. 2021. Regional rural and structural transformations and farmer’s income in the past four decades in China. China Agricultural Economic Review, 13, 278–301.

Huang J K, Wang X B, Zhi H Y, Huang Z R, Rozelle S. 2011. Subsidies and distortions in China’s agriculture: evidence from producer-level data. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 55, 53–71.

Huang L J, Ma X D. 2018. Spatial coupling cooperative analysis of economic development and rural transformation in Jiangsu Province. Economic Geography, 38, 151–159. (in Chinese)

IFAD. 2016. Rural Development Report 2016: Fostering Inclusive Rural Transformation. IFAD, Rome.

Imai K, Gaiha R, Bresciani F. 2019. Dynamics of rural transformation and poverty and inequality in Asia and the Pacific. In: Greve B, eds., International Handbook of Poverty. Routledge, London. pp. 185–201.

Jin S Q, Ma H Y, Huang J K, Hu R F, Rozelle S. 2010. Productivity, efficiency and technical change: measuring the performance of China’s transforming agriculture. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 33, 191–207.

Li H B, Li L, Wu B Z, Xiong Y Y. 2012. The end of cheap Chinese labor. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26, 57–74.

Li S P, Dong Y Q, Zhang L X, Liu C F. 2021. Off-farm employment and poverty alleviation in rural China. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 20, 943–952.

Li Y R, Liu Y S, Long H L. 2011. Study on the pattern and types of rural development in the Huang-Huai-Hai region. Geographical Research, 30, 1637–1647. (in Chinese)

Lin Y F. 1992. Rural reforms and agricultural growth in China, American Economic Review, 82, 34–51.

Liu S Y, Wang R M, Shi G. 2018. Historical transformation of China’s agriculture: productivity changes and other key features. China & World Economy, 26, 42–65.

Liu Y, Barrett C B, Pham T, Violette W. 2020. The intertemporal evolution of agriculture and labor over a rapid structural transformation: Lessons from Vietnam. Food Policy, 94, 101913.

Liu Y S, Guo Y Z, Zhou Y. 2018. Poverty alleviation in rural China: policy changes, future challenges and policy implications. China Agricultural Economic Review, 10, 241–259.

Liu Z H, Yang P, Wu W B, You L Z. 2018. Spatiotemporal changes of cropping structure in China during 1980–2011. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 28, 1659–1671.

Long H L, Zou J, Li T T, Liu Y S. 2012. Study on the characteristics and territorial types of rural transformation development: the case of ‘Southern Jiangsu–Northern Shaanxi’ transect. Geographical Research, 31, 495–506. (in Chinese)

McMillan J, Walley J, Zhu L J. 1989. The impacts of China’s economic reforms on agricultural productivity growth. Journal of Political Economy, 97, 781–807.

Min S, Liu M, Huang J K. 2020. Does the application of ICTs facilitate rural economic transformation in China? Empirical evidence from the use of smartphones among farmers. Journal of Asian Economics, 70, 101219.

NBSC (National Bureau of Statistics of China). 2020. China Statistical Yearbook. China Statistical Press, Beijing. (in Chinese)

Otsuka K, Zhang X B. 2021. Transformation of the rural economy. In: Otsuka K, Fan S G, eds., Agricultural Development: New Perspective in a Changing World. IFPRI, Washington, D.C. pp. 359–396.

The State Council. 2015. Several Opinions on Establishing and Improving the Provincial Governor Responsibility System for Grain Security. State Council Policy Document. (in Chinese)

Timmer C P. 2009. A World Without Agriculture: the Structural Transformation in Historical Perspective. AEI Press, Washington, D.C.

Timmer C P. 2017. Food security, structural transformation, markets and government policy. Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, 4, 4–19.

Timmer C P, Akkus S. 2008. The structural transformation as a pathway out of poverty: analytics, empirics and politics. Center for Global Development Working Paper, 150.

Wang J X, Zhu Y Y, Sun T H, Huang J K, Zhang L X, Guan B Z, Huang Q Q. 2020. Forty years of irrigation development and reform in China. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 64, 126–149.

Wang W L, Yu C C, Shui W, Wu P Q, Wang Q F. 2019. Research on spatio-temporal pattern of specialized development of Chinese planting industry. Geographical Research, 38, 1265–1279. (in Chinese)

Wang X B, Yamauchi F, Otsuka K, Huang J K. 2016. Wage growth, landholding, and mechanization in Chinese agriculture. World Development, 86, 30–45.

Wang Z Y, Sun S Z. 2016. Transportation infrastructure and rural development in China. China Agricultural Economic Review, 8, 516–525.

Yang J, Huang Z H, Zhang X B, Thomas R. 2013. The rapid rise of cross-regional agricultural mechanization services in China. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 95, 1245–1251.

Yi Q, Chen M Y, Sheng Y, Huang J K. 2019. Mechanization services, farm productivity and institutional innovation in China. China Agricultural Economic Review, 11, 536–554.

Zhang L X, Dong Y Q, Liu C F, Bai Y L. 2018. Off-farm employment over the past four decades in rural China. China Agricultural Economic Review, 10, 190–214.

[1] Jie Xue, Xianglin Zhang, Songchao Chen, Bifeng Hu, Nan Wang, Zhou Shi.

Quantifying the agreement and accuracy characteristics of four satellite-based LULC products for cropland classification in China [J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2024, 23(1): 283-297.

[2] ZHANG Sha, YANG Shan-shan, WANG Jing-wen, WU Xi-fang, Malak HENCHIRI, Tehseen JAVED, ZHANG Jia-hua, BAI Yun. Integrating a novel irrigation approximation method with a process-based remote sensing model to estimate multi-years' winter wheat yield over the North China Plain[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2023, 22(9): 2865-2881.
[3] LI Dong-qing, ZHANG Ming-xue, LÜ Xin-xin, HOU Ling-ling. Does nature-based solution sustain grassland quality? Evidence from rotational grazing practice in China[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2023, 22(8): 2567-2576.
[4] YU Wen-jia, LI Hai-gang, Peteh M. NKEBIWE, YANG Xue-yun, GUO Da-yong, LI Cui-lan, ZHU Yi-yong, XIAO Jing-xiu, LI Guo-hua, SUN Zhi, Torsten MÜLLER, SHEN Jian-bo. Combining rhizosphere and soil-based P management decreased the P fertilizer demand of China by more than half based on LePA model simulations[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2023, 22(8): 2509-2520.
[5] YANG Rui, XU Hang. Water diversion and agricultural production: Evidence from China[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2023, 22(4): 1244-1257.
[6] HOU Jing, ZHOU Li, Jennifer IFFT, YING Rui-yao. The role of time preferences in contract breach: Evidence from Chinese poultry farmers participating in contract farming[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2023, 22(2): 623-641.
[7] Maria Fay ROLA-RUBZEN, Hue T. VUONG, Claire DOLL, Curtis ROLLINS, Jon Marx SARMIENTO, Mohammad Jahangir ALAM, Ismat Ara BEGUM. Gender and rural transformation: A systematic literature review[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2023, 22(12): 3624-3637.
[8] ABEDULLAH, Shujaat FAROOQ, Farah NAZ. Developing strategy for rural transformation to alleviate poverty in Pakistan: Stylized facts from panel analysis[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2023, 22(12): 3610-3623.
[9] Dong WANG, Chunlai CHEN, Christopher FINDLAY. A review of rural transformation studies: Definition, measurement, and indicators[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2023, 22(12): 3568-3581.
[10] Tahlim SUDARYANTO, ERWIDODO, Saktyanu Kristyantoadi DERMOREDJO, Helena Juliani PURBA, Rika Reviza RACHMAWATI, Aldho Riski IRAWAN. Regional rural transformation and its association with household income and poverty incidence in Indonesia in the last two decades[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2023, 22(12): 3596-3609.
[11] YANG Xu, ZHANG Jia-hua, YANG Shan-shan, WANG Jing-wen, BAI Yun, ZHANG Sha. Modelling the crop yield gap with a remote sensing-based process model: A case study of winter wheat in the North China Plain[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2023, 22(10): 2993-3005.
[12] FENG Lu, CHI Bao-jie, DONG He-zhong. Cotton cultivation technology with Chinese characteristics has driven the 70-year development of cotton production in China[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2022, 21(3): 597-609.
[13] CHU Zhen-dong, MING Bo LI Lu-lu, XUE Jun, ZHANG Wan-xu, HOU Liang-yu, XIE Rui-zhi, HOU Peng, WANG Ke-ru, LI Shao-kun . Dynamics of maize grain drying in the high latitude region of Northeast China[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2022, 21(2): 365-374.
[14] ZHOU Yong, YAN Xiao-yuan, GONG Song-ling, LI Cheng-wei, ZHU Rong, ZHU Bo, LIU Zhang-yong, WANG Xiao-long, CAO Peng. Changes in paddy cropping system enhanced economic profit and ecological sustainability in central China[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2022, 21(2): 566-577.
[15] LIU Ying-xia, Gerard B. M. HEUVELINK, Zhanguo BAI, HE Ping, JIANG Rong, HUANG Shao-hui, XU Xin-peng. Statistical analysis of nitrogen use efficiency in Northeast China using multiple linear regression and random forest[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2022, 21(12): 3637-3657.
No Suggested Reading articles found!