Introduction Over the past 25 years, China has made huge strides in its battle against poverty as it hastransformed into one of the most dynamic economies in the world. China's poverty rate today isprobably slightly lower than the average for the world as a whole. But around 1980 the incidence ofpoverty in China was one of the highest in the world (Chen and Ravallion, 2004a). What might the many developing countries that have been less successful against poverty learnfrom China's experience? And what can China learn for its continuing efforts against poverty? Basedon survey data spanning 1980-2001, we have analyzed China's record against poverty over the twodecades since Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping introduced his pro-market reforms in 1978. Our studyshows that, while the incidence of poverty in China fell dramatically, progress was uneven. Ruralareas accounted for the bulk of the gains to the poor, although migration to urban areas helped.However, for China to make more progress against poverty, it will have to confront the problem ofrising inequality.
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