ABSTRACT
The previous two chapters applied, respectively, the official poverty identification method and the monetary approach to identify the poor. These methods were found to be rather arbitrary, objective, political and imposed by outsiders. We would like to know whether participatory poverty assessment could do a better job. What kinds of households and with what socioeconomic characteristics would the villagers themselves identify as poor? Do local and village-level politics provide a supportive environment for the participatory approach? What are the barriers to participatory poverty assessment in China?
