Spatial poverty traps in rural China: Aggregation, persistence, and reinforcement

This paper identifies poverty traps in rural China from three dimensions: aggregation, persistence, and reinforcement. Distribution of poverty‐stricken counties is mainly related to topographic factors (slope and elevation). There is not only a low‐level equilibrium of income in poverty‐stricken counties, but also a “club convergence” of income between poverty‐stricken and non‐poverty counties. Income in poverty‐stricken counties has a “spatial spillover” effect, so poverty also manifests itself as spatial self‐reinforcement.