Where is the way forward for financial poverty reduction under the new normal?

The Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2014 made arrangements to “focus more on specific populations and particular people to achieve targeted poverty alleviation”, and set higher requirements for Hebei Province to further accelerate the construction of the poverty alleviation demonstration zone (hereinafter referred to as the demonstration zone). At present, Hebei Province faces both the general contradictions of the nationwide “three-period superposition” and special problems such as relatively great downward pressure on the economy, prominent structural contradictions, and serious air pollution. Against the background of the new normal of economic development, how can Hebei Province achieve the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects at an early date, ensure that the demonstration zone takes the lead in poverty alleviation and achieves targeted poverty alleviation, and where exactly lies the path of financial poverty reduction? The book Research on the Path and Innovation of Financial Poverty Reduction in Hebei Province's Poverty Alleviation Demonstration Zone, written by Professor Yang Weikun, provides the answer. Based precisely on the above research background, this book takes financial poverty reduction and path innovation as its entry point, takes the effective realization of the dual goals of financial poverty reduction and sustainable development as its main line, applies the theoretical and practical innovation achievements of financial poverty reduction, inclusive finance, and microcredit, draws on successful experience at home and abroad, and combines typical case analysis to deeply explore the specific development conditions of each county in Hebei Province's poverty alleviation demonstration zone and the causes of poverty, actively explore a financial poverty alleviation path suited to the development of the demonstration zone that has Hebei characteristics and is also worth promoting, and put forward targeted and operable countermeasures and suggestions. The main views put forward by this research achievement are in the following five aspects:

First, under the new normal, how to ensure that the demonstration zone takes the lead in poverty alleviation and achieves targeted poverty alleviation cannot rely solely on fiscal poverty alleviation, which is difficult to sustain with one arm alone; it is necessary to draw on the power of finance, give play to the combined force of fiscal and financial levers, guide more social funds to participate in poverty alleviation, transform “blood transfusion” into “blood formation”, enhance development vitality, and provide financial driving force for achieving the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects at an early date.

Second, building a targeted fiscal and financial poverty alleviation system should be divided into three levels, namely targeted identification——targeted assistance——targeted management. Among them, targeted identification is the premise, targeted assistance is the key, and targeted management is the guarantee. Only by achieving the above three points can targeted poverty alleviation be realized, truly achieving “helping the truly poor and truly helping the poor” as required by General Secretary Xi Jinping, and ultimately achieving targeted poverty alleviation.

Third, studying the issue of anti-poverty from the perspective of inclusive finance and providing poor people with equal opportunities to participate in economic development can greatly promote the improvement of poor people's human capital level and their ability to escape poverty and become prosperous. The stratification of rural financial demand determines the stratification of rural financial supply and financial organizations. Building a multi-level, diversified, and localized rural inclusive financial system based on cooperative finance, with division of labor and cooperation between commercial finance and policy finance, actively promoting the innovation and development of Hebei Province's rural microcredit poverty alleviation model, and exploring innovative financial poverty reduction paths are the key to solving the “last mile” problem of financing for rural disadvantaged groups.

Fourth, microcredit institutions in Hebei Province's poverty alleviation demonstration zone should actively promote product innovation, management innovation, and mechanism innovation, effectively realize the dual goals of financial poverty alleviation and sustainable development, shoulder the social responsibility inherent in microcredit, continuously pay attention to, support, and serve disadvantaged groups, stimulate the confidence and potential for development of service recipients, and create a financial pattern with endogenous impetus and sustainable operation, thereby achieving sustainable poverty alleviation for the poor population.

Fifth, the government should bring microcredit into the mainstream financial system as soon as possible, provide a complete and clear legal framework and risk control procedures, a strong policy support system, and a relaxed institutional environment, and gradually build a multi-level and multi-dimensional local financial regulatory system comprising financial offices, banking regulatory departments, and industry associations, so as to ensure the sustainable and healthy development of microcredit and continuously improve the rural inclusive financial system.

Overall, the book Research on the Path and Innovation of Financial Poverty Reduction in Hebei Province's Poverty Alleviation Demonstration Zone, as a theoretical work studying the innovation of financial poverty reduction paths in Hebei Province's poverty alleviation demonstration zone against the background of the new normal, not only has great significance in topic selection and a novel perspective, with exploratory and innovative qualities in theory, but also has clear research thinking, rigorous structure, strong logic, and standardized research methods, reaching the domestic frontier level in this field and having important academic value and practical significance. This book is a beneficial exploration of how to realize innovation in financial poverty reduction paths under the goal of inclusive finance, and is worth reading.