This paper proposes a decomposition framework for quantifying contributions of the determinants of poverty to spatial … differences or temporal changes in poverty. This framework is then applied to address the issue why poverty incidence is higher in … inland than in coastal China. The empirical application requires household or individual income observations which, generally …

of poverty in China in the 1990s. The changes in poverty trends are attributed to two proximate causes; income growth and … datasets and alternative assumptions about poverty lines and equivalence. Among the robust results are: (i) both income growth … inequality and stagnant income growth, leading to a slow-down in poverty reduction, even reversal of poverty trend. …