Advantages of regional development—A study on poverty alleviation in contiguous destitute areas

Abstract The 2011–2020 period is the final stage of poverty alleviation in China, which emphasizes regional development. Using county‐level panel data from 2006 to 2015, we explore the impact of regional poverty alleviation policy on economic growth of contiguous destitute areas (CDAs) in China. The results show that since 2012, economy in CDAs has developed rapidly, that GDP per capita has significantly improved by 5.4% and that county GDP has significantly improved by 6.6%. The regional strategy enhances construction of infrastructure and ecological projects, and gives full play to exert synergy effect, which doubles economic growth. The impact of economic growth is heterogeneous in different regional scales, regional inequities, geographic locations, and population sizes, and lasting even if counties are lifted out of poverty. Our findings recommend regional collaboration and highlight the importance of ecological protection in poverty alleviation.