Do rural clan-based networks reduce the risk of a return to poverty? Evidence from China

Avoidance of a return to poverty is a priority within postpoverty alleviation programmes in rural China. As traditional social networks, clan-based networks have long played a pivotal role within rural society and governance. However, few studies have examined their influence on the return to poverty of rural families. Therefore, we used the China Family Panel Survey (CFPS) data from 2014 to explore how clan networks influence the risk of a return to poverty among rural households and its mechanisms. Our findings suggest that clan networks can reduce the risk of returning to poverty and that they have heterogeneous effects on families and regions with different characteristics. Their main function is to reduce the borrowing cost through an external support mechanism and to promote movements of the rural labour force to urban areas where they can earn higher nonagricultural stable incomes through an internal sharing mechanism. This study of the role of traditional clan-based networks in poverty avoidance can contribute to their enhanced role in the new era, while also providing inputs for consolidating and expanding poverty alleviation, innovating existing follow-up poverty alleviation guarantee mechanisms and promoting comprehensive rural revitalization.