Title: Building hope for the poor
Abstract: This paper examines the effect of a safe housing program that has greatly improved housing conditions for the poor in a most impoverished ethnic minority region in China, where almost half of the labour force had no formal schooling in 2010. We find that the safe housing program significantly increases labour income (i.e., the sum of agricultural income, business income and wage income) for the poor, and the effect is stronger among the higher-educated and those in villages with better conditions and amenities. We provide supporting evidence that this positive income effect is due to the health improvement and increase in investment for the future caused by the safe housing program. Consistent with the push-pull theory of migration, as the safe housing program weakens the push factor, we also find that it reduces migration and wage income. This paper suggests that improving housing conditions can be deemed an alternative housing assistance policy to “Moving to Opportunities” programs for those who are reluctant to relocate.