No abstract

Deprivation and dependence are the main signs of poverty, and elimination of both constitutes a major means of poverty alleviation. The foremost goal of China's targeted poverty alleviation strategy (TPAS) and the sustainable livelihood analysis framework (SLAF) was thus the elimination of deprivation and dependence. Together, TPAS and SLAF form a poverty alleviation mechanism that provides an opportunity to conduct a systematic analysis of TPAS implementation that achieved world-renowned results in poverty alleviation. In this study, we comprehensively compare the changes in households and villages in a poor county before and after the implementation of TPAS; furthermore, we use a multilevel model to analyze the mechanism behind the functioning of the "Household-Village" multilevel structure in the poverty alleviation process. The TPAS implemented a comprehensive livelihood system for poor households, whereby multidimensional deprivation was eliminated by supplementing livelihood capitals.

Self-rated health status (SRHS) reflects individuals’ social environment, and the difference between urban and rural areas in China further highlights the impact of social environment on health. This paper aimed to systematically analyze and compare the impact mechanism of the SRHS of urban and rural residents from multiple dimensions, i.e., time, space, and scale. Drawing on data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) and China Statistical Yearbook, we used spatial, cross, and HLM analyses. Results indicate that: (1) From 2010 to 2017, the overall SRHS level of Chinese residents gradually declined; the gradient pattern of east, middle, and west became more marked, and the health level in rural areas generally fell behind that of urban areas. (2) The focus of SRHS moved toward mental health, and people’s perceptions of the social environment gradually became a key factor affecting health. (3) In the long term, the gradient allocation of medical service resources could narrow the gap between urban and rural areas to comprehensively improve regional health levels.