ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the effects of Yigong-daizhen projects on the employment, income, and nutritional status of households in poor areas. It attempts to explore the determinants of the consumption expenditures of the sample households. Village communities covered by the projects are mostly those with comparatively favourable economic conditions, and non-poor households in the village communities are not excluded from participating. The chapter analyses the food consumption and nutritional status of the sample population and provides insights relevant to policy in this area. 'Yigong-daizhen', which means 'to offer job opportunities instead of straightforward relief', is one of the Chinese Government's poverty-alleviation programmes. It consists mainly of government infrastructural construction investments in poor regions. Yigong-daizhen projects have mainly made use of simple, labour-intensive technology. Two types of labour are required for construction work: skilled and unskilled. Payments for labour are set by the project headquarters as task rates, with work quotas stipulated according to the amount and difficulty of the work contracted.
