Breaking Out of the Poverty Trap

Case Studies from the Tibetan Plateau in Yunnan, Qinghai and Gansu

This book provides unique insights into the challenges and potential solutions to alleviate poverty in western China. Many people are interested in China's economic and social development; the development of Tibet is an important part of this narrative. Unlike big cities in the east of China, Tibet is still underdeveloped, with severe poverty, relatively poor communications, poor infrastructure, transport links, and limited social services. Using deep and well-researched analyses, learned Chinese scholars share their policy insights, experience and knowledge of the underlying causes and potential solutions to this underdevelopment and poverty. The reader is also provided with firsthand accounts of different people in Tibet, ranging from local government officials to poverty-stricken herdsmen. This book gets at the heart of problems faced by ordinary Tibetans, such as dealing with impacts of natural disasters, lack of education, managing ecological resettlement, and trying to prevent the transmission of intergenerational poverty. Looking at these issues from a theoretical, policy, government and practical perspective, Breaking Out of the Poverty Trap — Case Studies from the Tibetan Plateau in Yunnan, Qinghai and Gansu covers the full range of issues in the development of the Tibetan Plateau.

Contents:

• Introduction (WANG Luolin and ZHU Ling)
• The Rational Behavior of Tibetan Farmers and Herders (YANG Chunxue)
• How Do Farmers and Herdsmen Participate in the Market? (ZHU Hengpeng)
• Sustainable Development of the Tricholoma Matsutake Industry in Tibetan-Inhabited Regions of Yunnan, and Their Participation in the Global Market: Discussions Based on Value Chain Analysis (YAO Yu)
• The Socioeconomic Impact of Cordyceps Sinensis Resource Management in Tibetan-Inhabited Regions of Qinghai (YAO Yu)
• Impoverishment Risks Caused by the Ecological Resettlement Project (JIN Chengwu)
• Preventing Intergenerational Poverty Transmission with Antenatal Care (ZHU Ling)
• Research on Compulsory Education in the Tibetan Regions of Qinghai and Yunnan Provinces (WEI Zhong)
• Effects of Radio and TV on the Cultural Lives of Farmers and Herdsmen (ZHOU Ji)
• Private and Social Aid in the Eastern Tibetan Regions (WEI Zhong)
• Snow Disasters and Relief Efforts: A Case Study of Tibetan Pastoral Areas in Southern Qinghai (ZHALUO)
• Systems and Technologies for Snow Disaster Prevention: Anthropological Observations on the Pastoral Areas in the Eastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (ZHALUO)

Readership: Undergraduates, graduates, academics and professionals interested in poverty alleviation and the social, cultural and economic development of Tibet, as well as the general public.
Key Features:

• Covers poverty issues from the perspectives of many disciplines (with contributors from economics, population studies, ethnic studies and history background), providing diverse views of the situation across a broad spectrum of subjects (ranging from local government officials, businessmen, farmers, herders to ordinary people)
• Writers tap on their experience and knowledge about Tibet to provide unique insights into Tibet's geography, history, society and culture, and to explore the effectiveness of policies in Tibet
• Presents Tibet's economic and social developments in an accessible manner — indispensable to anyone trying to understand the development of China and its Tibetan areas