Prioritising Health and Food: Social Assistance and Family Consumption in Rural China

Using the China Household Income Project 2013 rural data set and a propensity score matching method, this study examines the association between participation in China's rural dibao programme and household consumption patterns. To provide a focused analysis of this relationship among low-income families, the authors restrict the sample to households whose per capita income was at or below 1.5 times the national poverty line. The results show that rural dibao recipient households shifted their consumption patterns by prioritising health and food over other expenses. It is regrettable that the rural dibao programme was unable to help increase educational investments in recipient families.