IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v14y2025i2p350-d1586591.html

Structural and Rural Transformations and Poverty Reduction in Developing Asian Economies: An International Comparison Among China, the Philippines, and Vietnam

Author

Listed:
  • Qiu Chen

    (School of Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
    China Center for Agricultural Policy, Peking University, Beijing 100087, China)

  • Jikun Huang

    (China Center for Agricultural Policy, Peking University, Beijing 100087, China)

  • Mercedita A. Sombilla

    (Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), Los Baños 4031, Laguna, Philippines)

  • Trang Truong

    (Center for Agricultural Policy, Institute for Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam)

Abstract

In order to contribute to the body of knowledge on sustainable poverty reduction by exploring the relationship between rural and structural transformations and rural poverty incidence in Asian developing countries, this paper selected China, the Philippines, and Vietnam as case studies. Based on a comparison with the provincial data from those three countries, both the graphic and regression analysis suggest that structural and rural transformations matter in rural poverty reduction in these three countries. There is strong evidence showing that raising the share of non-agricultural GDP and the share of rural off-farm employment significantly contributes to rural poverty reduction in all three countries. More importantly, with the expansion of the non-farm sectors in both urban and rural areas, high-value agricultural share has a statistically significant and negative correlation with rural poverty in China and Vietnam over time, while such a negative correlation is much weaker or even does not exist in the Philippines. This paper further concludes with several implications for policymakers to promote inclusive structural and rural transformations.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiu Chen & Jikun Huang & Mercedita A. Sombilla & Trang Truong, 2025. "Structural and Rural Transformations and Poverty Reduction in Developing Asian Economies: An International Comparison Among China, the Philippines, and Vietnam," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-26, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:2:p:350-:d:1586591
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/2/350/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/2/350/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rakhee Bhattacharya & J. P. Bhattacharjee, 2015. "Poverty and Inequality in India: Regional Disparities," India Studies in Business and Economics, in: Rakhee Bhattacharya (ed.), Regional Development and Public Policy Challenges in India, edition 127, chapter 4, pages 105-160, Springer.
    2. Briones, Roehlano M., 2020. "Agricultural Employment and the Rural Household: A Characterization for Selected Provinces in the Philippines," Discussion Papers DP 2020-17, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    3. Benedikter, Simon & Waibel, Gabi & Birtel, Serge & Bui, Cuong The & Tran, Be Thanh, 2013. "Local Entrepreneurship in Vietnam’s Rural Transformation. A Case Study from the Mekong Delta," MPRA Paper 49866, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Oostendorp, Remco H. & Trung, Tran Quoc & Tung, Nguyen Thanh, 2009. "The Changing Role of Non-Farm Household Enterprises in Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 632-644, March.
    5. Balisacan, Arsenio M, 1993. "Agricultural Growth, Landlessness, Off-farm Employment, and Rural Poverty in the Philippines," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 41(3), pages 533-562, April.
    6. C. Peter Timmer, 2017. "Food Security, Structural Transformation, Markets and Government Policy," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(1), pages 4-19, January.
    7. World Bank, 2017. "Philippines Mindanao Jobs Report," World Bank Publications - Reports 28291, The World Bank Group.
    8. repec:wbk:wbpubs:21634 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Huang, Jikun & Rozelle, Scott, 1996. "Technological change: Rediscovering the engine of productivity growth in China's rural economy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 337-369, May.
    10. Llanto, Gilberto M., 2012. "The Impact of Infrastructure on Agricultural Productivity," Discussion Papers DP 2012-12, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    11. World Bank, 2013. "Philippine Development Report : Creating More and Better Jobs," World Bank Publications - Reports 16716, The World Bank Group.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Karen Q. Custodio & Mercedita A. Sombilla, 2025. "Rural Transformation in the Philippines and the Role of Institutions, Policies, and Investments," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-28, January.
    2. Carol Newman & Christina Kinghan, 2015. "Economic transformation and the diversification of livelihoods in rural Vietnam," WIDER Working Paper Series 064, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Cuong Le Van & Nguyen To The, 2019. "Farmers’ adoption of organic production," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 33-59, February.
    4. Clarete, Ramon L. & Villamil, Isabela Rosario G., 2015. "Readiness of the Philippine Agriculture and Fisheries Sectors for the 2015 ASEAN Economic Community: A Rapid Appraisal," Research Paper Series DP 2015-43, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    5. Peter G. Warr & Frances Wollmer, 1996. "The Demand For Ldc Exports Of Primary Commodities: The Case Of The Philippines," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 40(1), pages 37-49, April.
    6. Saurabh Singhal & Ulrik Beck, 2015. "Ethnic disadvantage in Vietnam: Evidence using panel data," WIDER Working Paper Series 097, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Xu, Guangyu & Chen, Huang, 2025. "Inclusive growth dilemma: Weighing the pros and cons of land market reform," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    8. Genesis T. Yengoh & Frederick Ato Armah & Edward Ebo Onumah, 2010. "Paths to Attaining Food Security: The Case of Cameroon," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 1(1), pages 1-22, August.
    9. Jikun Huang & Fangbin Qiao & Linxiu Zhang & Scott Rozelle, 2000. "Farm Pesticide, Rice Production, and Human Health," EEPSEA Research Report rr2000051, Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), revised May 2000.
    10. Zhang, Daojun & Jia, Qiqi & Xu, Xin & Yao, Shunbo & Chen, Haibin & Hou, Xianhui & Zhang, Jinting & Jin, Gui, 2019. "Assessing the coordination of ecological and agricultural goals during ecological restoration efforts: A case study of Wuqi County, Northwest China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 550-562.
    11. Yuanyuan Chen & Changhe Lu, 2019. "Future Grain Consumption Trends and Implications on Grain Security in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-14, September.
    12. Ansari, S.A. & Khan, W., 2015. "India’s Agricultural Trade Potential in Post-WTO Period," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 28(Conferenc).
    13. World Bank Group, 2014. "Policy Options for Liberalizing Philippine Maritime Cabotage Restrictions," World Bank Publications - Reports 24801, The World Bank Group.
    14. Colby, Hunter & Diao, Xinshen & Somwaru, Agapi, 1999. "Sources Of Growth And Supply Response: A Cross-Commodity Analysis Of China'S Grain Sector," Bulletins 12985, University of Minnesota, Economic Development Center.
    15. Dawe, D., 2002. "The changing structure of the world rice market, 1950-2000," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 355-370, August.
    16. repec:ehl:lserod:65369 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Frank H. Fuller & John C. Beghin & Stephane De Cara & Jacinto F. Fabiosa & Cheng Fang & Holger Matthey, 2001. "China's Accession to the WTO: What Is at Stake for Agricultural Markets?," Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) Publications (archive only) 01-wp276, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    18. Liu, Jean & Chen, Kevin & Shi, Minjun, 2004. "Access to Information and the Adoption of Hybrid Maize: Evidence from China's Poor Areas," Japanese Journal of Agricultural Economics (formerly Japanese Journal of Rural Economics), Agricultural Economics Society of Japan (AESJ), vol. 6, pages 1-7.
    19. Chao Zhang & Ruifa Hu, 2020. "Does Fertilizer Use Intensity Respond to the Urban-Rural Income Gap? Evidence from a Dynamic Panel-Data Analysis in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, January.
    20. Chi Huu Nguyen & Christophe J. Nordman, 2018. "Household Entrepreneurship and Social Networks: Panel Data Evidence from Vietnam," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(4), pages 594-618, April.
    21. Carter, Colin A. & Estrin, Andrew J., 2001. "Market Reforms Versus Structural Reforms in Rural China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 527-541, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:2:p:350-:d:1586591. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.