Riskin Carl A. author Columbia University. Weatherhead East Asian Institute Columbia University. Economics Gao Qin author Columbia University. Initiative for Policy Dialogue originator text Working papers New York Initiative for Policy Dialogue 2009 Our analysis is based upon the three round China Household Income Project (CHIP) surveys of household income carried out by an international team under the aegis of the Institute of Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Science. The CHIP studies defined household disposable income to include direct subsidies, income-in-kind, and the rental value of owned housing, in keeping with standard international practice. Income thus defined has exceeded income as officially defined and has changed differently, as well, especially in urban areas where formerly large subsidies faded away while rental value of owned housing burgeoned with the housing reform (Khan & Riskin, 2001, 2005). After summarizing available estimates of the size and trends of urban poverty, we use an urban poverty line fashioned by Khan (Khan & Riskin 2001; Khan 2004) to examine the changing characteristics of China's urban poor, and then explore whether recent declines in urban poverty are the fruits of the direct benefits and safety net programs that China has been establishing. Economics http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:15146 English NNC NNC 2012-11-01 13:54:04 -0400 2012-11-02 09:38:09 -0400 9148 eng