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China is Purging Celebrities and Tech Billionaires. But the Problem is Bigger than 'Sissy Men'

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The Los Angeles Times writes about China's new "common prosperity" campaign to narrow the gap between rich and poor. However Scott Rozelle doesn't think "any of these policies that they’re doing are addressing the real underlying issues.” Rozelle says they need to invest in rural education so that workers can move into higher-skill jobs.

Forbes: How China’s GDP Growth Fails To Measure Its Standard Of Living: The Tragedy Of The Current Recentralization

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Young children sort corn outside of a home in a rural village in China.
Rural Education Action Program
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Author Anne Stevenson-Yang exposes the unseen rural China and states that "the best corrective to misunderstandings about this “invisible China” is a book that came out in 2020 and remains the most important book on China in a decade: Invisible China, by Scott Rozelle and Natalie Hell."

Passive Versus Active Service Delivery: Comparing the Effects of Two Parenting Interventions on Early Cognitive Development in Rural China

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We present the results of a cluster-randomized controlled trial that evaluates the effects of a free, center-based parenting intervention on early cognitive development and parenting practices in 100 rural villages in China. We then compare these effects to a previous trial of a home-based intervention conducted in the same region, using the same parenting curriculum and public service system, accounting for potential differences between the studies. We find that the center-based intervention did not have a significant impact on child development outcomes, but did lead to increases in the material investments, time investments, and parenting skills of caregivers. The average impact of the center-based intervention on child skills and investments in children was significantly smaller than the home-visiting intervention. Analysis of the possible mechanisms suggests that the difference in effects was driven primarily by different patterns of selection into program participation.
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World Development
Authors
Sean Sylvia
Alexis Medina
Scott Rozelle

Early Childhood Development and Parental Training Interventions in Rural China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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Introduction: Inadequate care during early childhood can lead to long-term deficits in skills. Parenting programmes that encourage investment in young children are a promising tool for improving early development outcomes and long-term opportunities in low-income and middle-income regions, such as rural China. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and a meta-analysis to investigate the prevalence of early developmental delays and stimulating parenting practices as well as the effect of parental training programmes on child development outcomes in rural China. We obtained data in English from EconPapers, PubMed, PsycARTICLES, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Scopus (Elsevier) and in Chinese from China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data and VIP Information. We conducted frequentist meta-analyses of aggregate data and estimated random-effects meta-regressions. Certainty of evidence was rated according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. Results: We identified 19 observational studies on the prevalence of developmental delays and stimulating parenting practices for children under 5 years of age (n=19 762) and ten studies on the impact of parental training programmes on early child development (n=13 766). Children’s risk of cognitive, language and social-emotional delays in the rural study sites (covering 14 provinces mostly in Central and Western China) was 45%, 46%, and 36%, respectively. Parental training programmes had a positive impact on child cognition, language and social-emotional development. Conclusion: There is evidence to suggest that early developmental delay and the absence of stimulating parenting practices (ie, reading, storytelling and singing with children) may be prevalent across rural, low-income and middle-income regions in Central and Western China. Results support the effectiveness of parental training programmes to improve early development by encouraging parental engagement.
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BMJ Global Health
Authors
Dorien Emmers
Alexis Medina
Scott Rozelle

Dorien Emmers

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Assistant Professor, Chinese Studies, KU Leuven
Assistant Professor, Economics, KU Leuven
Research Affiliate, Rural Education Action Program
dorien_emmers.jpg PhD

Dorien Emmers is an assistant professor in Chinese Studies and Economics at KU Leuven. Her research interests center around the economics and measurement of human capital formation and social mobility. She has been involved in the design and evaluation of field experiments testing the effectiveness of early childhood interventions in rural China. She’s currently working on the observation-based measurement of early skill formation. Dorien previously worked as a lecturer on Chinese politics at the KU Leuven Chinese Studies Unit and was a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Stanford Center on China's Economy an Institutions. She completed her Ph. D. in Economics at KU Leuven LICOS — Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance. She previously graduated magna cum laude from the Bachelor and Master of Arts in Sinology and the Master of Science in Research in Economics at KU Leuven. She considers her background in the non-disciplinary-specific study of the Chinese language and area as a perfect complement of the non-area-specific discipline of economics.

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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among Elementary Students in Rural China: Prevalence, Correlates, and Consequence

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Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a widely recognized mental health problem in developed countries but remains under-investigated in developing settings. This study examines the prevalence, correlates, and consequences of ADHD symptoms among elementary school students in rural China. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 6,719 students across 120 rural primary schools in China on ADHD symptoms, demographic characteristics, and academic performance in reading and math. ADHD symptoms were evaluated using the caregiver-reported ADHD Rating Scale-IV. Results: The prevalence of ADHD symptoms was 7.5% in our sample. Male students, students in lower grade levels, and students with lower cognitive ability showed a significantly higher prevalence of ADHD symptoms (ORs = 2.56, 2.06, and 1.84, respectively; p<0.05). Left-behind children showed a significantly lower prevalence of ADHD symptoms than did children who were living with their parents (OR = 0.74, p < 0.05). Adjusted regressions show that students with ADHD symptoms scored 0.12 standardized deviations lower in reading (p < 0.05) and 0.19 standardized deviations lower in math (p < 0.01). Limitations: The ADHD Rating Scale-IV is a screening scale rather than a diagnostic test. Caregiver self-report measures also may underestimate ADHD symptoms for our sample. Conclusions: ADHD is a common disorder among rural students in China and appears to be contributing to poor academic outcomes. The higher prevalence of ADHD among students with low cognitive ability also suggests that many rural children in China face multifactorial learning challenges. Taken together, the findings indicate a need for educators and policymakers in rural China to develop programs to reduce risk and support students with ADHD symptoms.

Journal Publisher
Journal of Affective Disorders
Authors
Huan Wang
Scott Rozelle

The Strategist Reviews Scott Rozelle's Book, 'Invisible China'

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"[Rozelle and Hell's] fresh book, Invisible China, focuses on an issue that has received little attention, China’s vast, isolated and long-neglected rural population. As the authors see it, the rural challenge has ‘remained invisible for too long, not only to the outside world but also to many Chinese’."

The Guardian: 'Poverty Divides Us': Gap Between Rich and Poor Poses Threat to China

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This article was first published by The Guardian on July 1, 2021. It was later published by Taipei Times on July 7, 2021.

You can read the full article online at The Guardian or Taipei Times. 

"When Wang Zhenyu moved out of his small village in central Henan province to the coastal city of Dalian at 18, he was astonished. “It was like a culture shock for me, even though it was just a big city in my country, not a foreign land.” A few years later when he was enrolled in Peking University as a graduate student, he found much fewer students in the country’s top university coming from a similar background to his.

Growing up in a small village of 2,000 farmers, many of Wang’s childhood friends dropped out of school after finishing their nine years of compulsory education. Now with a decent academic job, Wang begins to experience “reverse culture shock” every time he goes back to his village for the annual lunar new year.

“When I get together with my childhood friends in my village, the number of attendees reduces every year. Some went out to be migrant workers in big cities then never came back; others have gotten used to the life as villagers. It’s the poverty that is dividing us. It’s a vicious circle.”

As China grows wealthier as a country, its gaps between rich and poor, urban and rural also increase. Although the country’s official Gini coefficient, a measurement of income inequality, has improved slightly in recent years, experts have also questioned its accuracy. Last May, Premier Li Keqiang revealed that 600 million citizens only earn about 1,000 yuan (£112) a month, indicating the extent of the problem. Many worry the Covid pandemic may have reversed the trend."

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Workers on the assembly line in the packaging workshop of a liquor enterprise, Sihong county, Jiangsu province, China.
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Xi Jinping himself has warned China’s wealth gap is not only economic but political and could threaten party’s legitimacy. Scott Rozelle is quoted sharing just how rare it is for someone in China to move from living in poverty in rural China to the ranks of the educated middle class. This article authored by Vincent Ni is also featured in Taipei Times.

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Aljazeera: As China’s Communist Party Turns 100, Economic Challenges Loom

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"As the ruling Communist Party celebrates its 100th anniversary this week, China’s leaders face formidable economic challenges, from falling birth rates and income inequality to rural-urban opportunity gaps." Scott Rozelle shares his insights.

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