The Political Economy of Poverty Reduction: A Comparative Study of Roadway, Migration and Coal Mining in Two Chinese Provinces.

Is growth good for the poor? In theory, yes. But exceptions give us pause. This paper examines two poor, neighboring Chinese provinces that are exceptions to the hypothesis that increasing economic growth should reduce rural poverty. Starting in the early 1990s, Guizhou saw significant declines in rural poverty despite moribund growth, while Yunnan's poverty rates stagnated despite robust growth. This paper argues that the volume, distribution and structure of roadways, migration and coal mining that contributed to this puzzling outcome. The results have an impact on our understanding of the relationship between development and poverty reduction, the role that the state plays, as well as poverty reduction in China. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]