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Highlight : Role of the market and the government in poverty relief
Updated 12:19, 21-Jan-2021
02:42

Looking back on the development of poverty alleviation over the past 40 years of China's reform and opening up, the world-renowned achievements in poverty alleviation are the result of a series of social development policies and government special poverty alleviation measures. 

China says that practice has proved that the road of poverty alleviation with Chinese characteristics is the right choice. Among them, the coordination between the government and the market plays the key role in poverty alleviation.

How to evaluate the respective roles of the market and the government in poverty alleviation? Closer to China speaks to Lei Ming, Director of the Institute on Poverty Research, Peking University; Wu Guobao, Director of the Center for Poverty Research, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; and Wang Sangui, Director of China Institute of Poverty Alleviation, Renmin University.

Harvesting highland barley in Kangsar Village, Qamdo City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, September 10, 2020. /Xinhua Photo

Harvesting highland barley in Kangsar Village, Qamdo City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, September 10, 2020. /Xinhua Photo

According to Lei Ming, from an economic perspective, poverty alleviation is about offering quasi-public goods. It has attributes of both public goods and non-public goods. 

As for public service infrastructure, it must be provided by governments...Only with adequate infrastructure, can the government lower the transaction costs of poverty relief.

According to Wu Guobao, there are two different scenarios. One is where the government champions industrial poverty-relief programs, builds infrastructure, and improves public services, etc. In the other, the government acts as an information provider with direct market players or social organization participation. 

That is, local governments release requests on industrial poverty alleviation or social programs via the internet or other information channels, to facilitate connections between capable markets, social organizations, and relevant authorities.

According to Wang Sangui, China's poverty alleviation is led by the government with participation of all social entities, which includes market entities. It does not work without market participation. 

Governments need to mobilize all resources to upgrade poverty alleviation systems and mechanisms. That is very important. On the other hand, we cannot win the battle against poverty simply by relying on the government.

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