Reconciling the conflicting narratives on poverty in China

The prevailing narrative of a huge reduction in income poverty China since reforms began 1978 does not accord with all the evidence. paper tries to reconcile conflicting findings. rise counts indicated by strongly-relative measures literature is credible given properties these measures. More surprising, and revealing, story told official lines, which were revised twice original 1985 line. shows that lines are neither absolute nor strongly relative. Rather, they weakly relative, positive elasticity mean less than unity. provides new annual series weakly-relative consistent lines. Poverty has certainly vanished China, but substantial progress indicated.