Can labor transfer reduce poverty? Evidence from a rural area in China

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine how labor transfer can alleviate poverty caused by regional inequality. Based on a survey dataset of poor farmers in traditionally poverty-stricken areas in the Jiangxi province of China, we concluded that labor transfer and improvement in health can positively affect poverty reduction. Particularly, the labor transfer distance has a significant and positive effect on poor households in the middle- and low-income levels. In contrast, families occupying the middle and upper strata in society are forced to improve their wealth level in response to a potential drop in health levels through accumulating wealth. Additionally, we found that poor households with health obstacles had to traverse a longer distance to improve their income levels.

Keywords: Health level; Income level; Labor transfer; Poverty alleviation; Social inequality.