Anti-poverty Effects of Rural Subsistence Allowance System in Ethnic Minority Concentrated Areas

Since 2007, the Chinese government has comprehensively implemented the rural subsistence allowance system, which provides financial assistance to the rural poore whose per capita household income falls below the legal minimum in order to help them meet their basic needs. Intended as a safety net for poor households in rural areas, the system is designed to mitigate rural poverty and improve social justice. In this study, we mainly focus on whether in ethnic minority concentrated areas in the China’s western region, where poverty is especially severe, this assistance program which targets extremely low-income rural households has produced the internet outcome.