Comparison between China and India-the poverty alleviation issue

Mazanova, Tereza

4. term

Development and International Relations, Master

2015

53

This thesis examines why China has been more successful than India at reducing extreme poverty despite rapid economic growth in both countries. Using a comparative case-study design grounded mainly in secondary sources (including the World Bank, national statistics, and Human Development Reports), it combines qualitative and quantitative evidence interpreted through a hermeneutic approach. Modernization theory frames the analysis and is complemented by concepts such as the growth elasticity of poverty reduction and the Gini coefficient; two structured email interviews with respondents from China and India add local perspectives. The study covers China’s reforms since the late 1970s and India’s since the 1990s, focusing on the role of the state, gender and minority issues, the unequal distribution of growth gains, and how economic growth translates into human development and poverty reduction. Descriptive trends show large declines in extreme poverty in both countries—China from over half the population in 1981 to about 4 percent without sufficient food by 2004, and India from 51 percent in 1990 to 22 percent by 2015—with China ranked higher on the Human Development Index. The analysis highlights differences in state capacity, policy implementation, openness to investment, population growth, and social structures (including caste) as potential explanations for China’s faster progress, while acknowledging environmental and governance challenges in China. The conclusion assesses the usefulness of the modernization framework, but the final verdict is not reported in this excerpt.

Specialet undersøger, hvorfor Kina har været mere succesfuldt end Indien med at reducere ekstrem fattigdom, på trods af at begge lande har oplevet hurtig økonomisk vækst. Med et komparativt casestudie baseret primært på sekundære kilder (bl.a. Verdensbanken, nationale statistikker og Human Development Reports) kombinerer studiet kvalitative og kvantitative data og fortolker dem hermeneutisk. Moderniseringsteori udgør den overordnede ramme og suppleres af begreber som vækstelasticitet af fattigdomsreduktion og Gini-koefficienten; to strukturerede e-mailinterviews med respondenter fra Kina og Indien bidrager med lokale perspektiver. Analysen dækker Kinas reformperiode fra slut-1970’erne og Indiens siden 1990’erne og ser på statens rolle, køn og minoriteter, ulig fordeling af vækstgevinster samt sammenhængen mellem økonomisk vækst, menneskelig udvikling og fattigdomsreduktion. Beskrivende data viser markante fald i ekstrem fattigdom i begge lande—i Kina fra over halvdelen af befolkningen i 1981 til omkring 4 procent uden tilstrækkelig mad i 2004, og i Indien fra 51 procent i 1990 til 22 procent i 2015—samt højere HDI-placering for Kina. Analysen fremhæver forskelle i styringskapacitet, politisk implementering, åbenhed for investeringer, befolkningsvækst og sociale strukturer (herunder kastesystemet) som mulige forklaringer på Kinas hurtigere fremskridt, samtidig med at miljø- og styringsudfordringer i Kina anerkendes. Konklusionen vurderer moderniseringsteoriens forklaringskraft, men den endelige konklusion fremgår ikke af dette uddrag.

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Mazanova, Tereza:

• Comparison between China and India-the poverty alleviation issue (2015)