Poverty alleviation in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, 1983-- 1992

The poverty problem in China is highly stereotyped since it was perceived. It has been suggested that poverty alleviation be exclusively concerned with the revival of the regional economy by means of large-scale capital investment or the improvement of the livelihoods of the recipients by means of rural integrated development programmes. The strategy of sustainable development is regarded as an ideal meeting point in supporting environmental rehabilitation, while maintaining acceptable living standard. However, upon a broad review of poverty alleviation in China, the strategy has to be re-examined. On the one hand, since space is too widely defined, the integrative aspect has been overlooked, in that the political process connecting the region, the county, the township and the village is not explored adequately. On the other hand, since poverty is too narrowly pursued, the segregate aspect has been neglected, such that the spatial process connecting the county and the township has not been assessed. The purpose of this research is to expose the hidden agenda of poverty alleviation in China, in which economic growth and basic needs are made sub-regional issues, while the designation of poverty is a concern of national development. The Xihaigu Poverty Alleviation Project situated in the eight counties in the Southern mountainous District of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region during the period 1983 to 1992 was investigated. Both policy analysis and household survey were undertaken. It is found that, when space is more narrowly defined and when poverty is more widely pursued, a targetting mechanism emerges by involving the government more deeply in an inclusive approach. As such, mainstream thinking on poverty alleviation can be more critically reassessed by reinstating basic needs to the core of the inquiry on the poverty problem.