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Volatility and Inequality: Household Vulnerability as Uncertain Welfare in Rural China

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  • Jing You

    (School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China)

  • Adam Ozanne

    (Economics, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK)

Abstract

Rural households in China have experienced higher consumption levels combined with uncertainty associated with increasing volatility and growing relative inequality of their levels of consumption. This raises the possibility that the overall effect – from welfare-increasing rises in average consumption and welfare-reducing increases in uncertainty – has been to make households worse rather than better off. This article finds that, overall, despite substantial poverty reduction, rural Chinese households experienced growing relative welfare losses between 1989 and 2006. Eighty per cent was driven by relative inequality. This suggests that China’s growth-oriented policy has not been entirely successful in improving rural households’ welfare.

Suggested Citation

  • Jing You & Adam Ozanne, 2015. "Volatility and Inequality: Household Vulnerability as Uncertain Welfare in Rural China," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 27(5), pages 686-706, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:eurjdr:v:27:y:2015:i:5:p:686-706
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    Cited by:

    1. Jing You & Katsushi Imai & Raghav Gaiha, 2014. "Decoding the Growth-Nutrition Nexus in China: Inequality, Uncertainty and Food Insecurity," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 20714, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    2. Lei He & Shuyi Zhou, 2024. "Measuring household vulnerability to medical expenditure shock: method and its empirical application," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 465-480, September.
    3. Meimei Wang & Yongchun Yang & Bo Zhang & Mengqin Liu & Qing Liu, 2019. "How Does Targeted Poverty Alleviation Policy Influence Residents’ Perceptions of Rural Living Conditions? A Study of 16 Villages in Gansu Province, Northwest China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-15, December.

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