China is Poorer than we Thought, But No Less Successful in the Fight Against Poverty
In 2005, China participated for the first time in the International Comparison Program (ICP), which collects primary data across countries on the prices for an internationally comparable list of goods and services. This paper examines the implicati...
Main Authors: | , |
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Language: | English |
Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/05/9452484/china-poorer-thought-no-less-successful-fight-against-poverty http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6674 |
Summary: | In 2005, China participated for the
first time in the International Comparison Program (ICP),
which collects primary data across countries on the prices
for an internationally comparable list of goods and
services. This paper examines the implications of the new
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) rate (derived by the ICP) for
China's poverty rate (by international standards) and
how it has changed over time. We provide estimates with and
without adjustment for a likely sampling bias in the ICP
data. Using an international poverty line of USD 1.25 at
2005 PPP, we find a substantially higher poverty rate for
China than past estimates, with about 15% of the population
living in consumption poverty, implying about 130 million
more poor by this standard. The income poverty rate in 2005
is 10%, implying about 65 million more people living in
poverty. However, the new ICP data suggest an even larger
reduction in the number of poor since 1981. |
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