EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC
FOUR DECADES OF POVERTY REDUCTION IN CHINA Drivers, Insights for the World, and the Way Ahead By the World Bank and the Development Research Center of the State Council, the People’s Republic of China
Over the past 40 years, the number of people in China with incomes below US$1.90 per day has fallen by close to 800 million. China has contributed to almost threequarters of the global reduction in extreme poverty. The speed and scale of China's poverty reduction is historically unprecedented. At the same time, a significant number of people remain vulnerable, with incomes below a threshold used to define poverty in upper-middle income countries. China has set a new goal of achieving progress towards common prosperity by 2035, which can help keep the policy focus on the vulnerable population over the coming decade. This report explores the key drivers for China's achievements in poverty alleviation over the past 40 years and the lessons of China's experience for other developing countries. It also puts forward suggestions for China's future policies. China's approach to poverty reduction was based on two pillars. The first aimed for broad-based economic transformation to open new opportunities and raise average incomes. The second was July 2022. 90 pages. the recognition that targeted support was nonetheless needed to alleviate persistent Stock no. C211877 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1877-6). US$35.00 poverty; support initially was provided to disadvantaged areas and later to individual households. China's economic development and the associated reduction of poverty benefited from effective governance, which helped coordinate multiple government agencies and induce cooperation from nongovernment stakeholders. To illustrate the role of broad-based economic transformation in reducing poverty, separate sections analyze growing agricultural productivity; incremental industrialization; managed urbanization and rural-to-urban migration; and the role of infrastructure. The evolution of China's approach to poverty alleviation, from placed-based to country-wide social protection policies, and targeted strategies implemented since 2012 are also reviewed.
REIMAGINING EDUCATION IN EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC IN THE WAKE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC By the World Bank
Countries in middle-income East Asia and the Pacific were already experiencing a learning crisis prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-related school disruptions have only made things worse. Learning poverty—defined as the percentage of 10-year-olds who cannot read and understand an age-appropriate text—is as high as 90 percent in several countries. Many large Southeast Asian countries consistently perform well below expectations on adolescent learning assessments. This report examines several key factors affecting learning outcomes in the region, including teaching, the use of educational technologies (EdTech), and public spending on education. It also analyzes the political economy of education reform and presents recommendations on how countries in middle-income East Asia and the Pacific can recover COVID-related learning losses and build stronger education systems to enhance productivity, growth, and development in the region. November 2022. 150 pages. Stock no. C211904 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1904-9). US$43.95
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