A multidimensional analysis of poverty in China from 1991 to 2006

Most studies have reported non negligible improvements for China in terms of poverty during the last three decades. However, this result is potentially hampered by two limitations. First, it may be contingent to the specific choices made regarding the poverty line and the poverty indices used for the analysis. As a consequence, it may collapse if one uses alternative poverty lines or poverty measures. Second, it results from a focus on the sole monetary aspects of poverty. As income does not cover all facets of well-being and since the relationship between these two concepts are quite fuzzy, it may be worth using a broader view of well-being, hence opting for a multidimensional approach of poverty analysis. In the present paper, these two issues are addressed using multidimensional stochastic dominance procedures on the joint distribution of income, education and health in seven Chinese provinces.

► We study the changes in poverty in China during the period 1991-2006 using the joint distribution of income, education and health. ► Poverty indices show a declining trend during the whole period. ► Stochastic dominance procedures confirm in a robust manner this decrease considering those individuals that cumulate deprivations in the three dimensions. ► Results are however more fragile with larger definitions of the poverty domain or when considering shorter time span.