"The impact of rural economic reform on the peasant households' economic safety"

From 1895 to 1990, this research was supported by central rural research centre. The main discover of this research is that the implement of household responsibility system and the detribalization of people's commune incent peasants improving the efficiency of resource allocation, in the meantime, leave a blank in agriculture infrastructure construction and village public service supplying system. At the same time, a single peasant is facing increasing uncertainty and risks. She referred to the experience of developed countries and the creation of Chinese peasants’ system and came up with key solutions. The first solution is to reinforced the public investment and service function of the government. The second solution is letting the village-autonomy to play a role. With the deformation detribalization of people's commune, community organizations could supplement partial functions of basic regime in the field of public affairs. Under the condition that the market mechanism is not fully developed, community organizations can partially supplement the role of the market in the process of production factor allocation; the third solution is to promote the development of farmers' cooperative organizations.^[6]

In her papers under this topic, two of which were respectively published in the British Journal of Development Studies, 1990, issue 2, and Cambridge Journal of Economics, 1993. Adopted in phase 4.

"The issue of income inequality"

This research study has continued from 1985 to the present, mainly through statistical analysis of sample survey data to identify factors that significantly affect income inequality. In the research, Zhu emphasized that although the market economy may provide people with equal entrepreneurship and employment opportunities, the initial conditions for individuals to enter the market are different. Therefore, the government needs to adopt redistribution and public service projects to alleviate its adverse effects.^[6]

"Economic analysis of gender inequality"

In 1995, Zhu attended the fourth world conference on women as a member of the Chinese government delegation. Since then, the gender perspective has been introduced into most of her research projects, among which the paper under the topic about gender equality in agricultural land distribution has won the second prize of the fifth excellent scientific research achievement of the Chinese Academy of social sciences. The article shows that the existing discrimination against women in rural society makes the policy of equal distribution of land resulting in gender inequality.^[6]

In 2010, Zhu published the research report about survey on the health problems of women farmers and herdsmen in Qinghai-Gansu and Yunnan-Tibet areas in the 10th journal article of world management.^[7] In her research, she found that the disease threat faced by Tibetan women farmers was mostly related to poverty. However, health services, especially women's health services, are the weak links in the development of Tibetan areas and the implementation of the poverty alleviation plan.^[6] Sick farming and animal husbandry housewives not only have difficulty in providing good nutrition and health care for the whole family, but also tend to deepen the poverty level of the family due to their own disease burden, and easily cause stunted children, thus leading to the intergenerational transmission of poverty. Therefore, the government needs to take interventions to solve this problem. The innovation of some primary health care systems in Tibetan areas in Yunnan and Gansu province can provide valuable experience for policy improvement in other Tibetan areas.^[8]

"Poverty reduction policy research"

Based on the understanding of living conditions of poor groups coming from her studies about income distribution, Zhu has been exploring effective ways to alleviate and eliminate poverty since 1990. Firstly, an interdisciplinary study of economics, sociology, and nutrition is conducted on the poverty reduction effect of the “work relief” project.^[8] Using the statistical methods such as decision analysis model and Gini coefficient decomposition, the ideal method of balance diet developed by nutritionists was introduced to analyze the sample data of villages and farmers, and to see the impact of policy intervention on farmers' food security, income and financial status. Based on this, it analyzes the relationship between macroeconomic reform and the implementation of poverty reduction plans, and summarizes the current gains and losses of poverty alleviation policies. Zhu's research report “The Impact of Public Works on Economic Growth, Employment and Social Services in Rural Poverty Areas” (published in Chinese) has won the first Distinguished Scientific Research Achievement Award of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 1993;^[5] her joint monograph with the Ministry of Agriculture's, "Yigongdaizhen and poverty reduction" was awarded the 7th Sun Yefang Economic Science Award in 1996.^[8] The English version of this book was published in the UK's Development Policy Review, No. 4, 1995.

Secondly, Zhu examines the operational mechanism of poverty-alleviation-loans, and draws on international experience and the effective informal system in rural China to propose improvement measures. Her research report was serialized in Journal of Financial Research, No. 6 and 7 of 1995; Her English papers written with colleagues from the Ministry of Agriculture and Kiel (fellow student in Germany), were being discussed in 1997 at the annual meeting of the International Society of Agricultural Economics^[2][8] and at the poverty-reduction-policy seminar of Asian and African countries; the monograph "Credit System for the Rural Poor in China"^[9] was published by the US Nova Science Publishers Company in 1997.

"Pension plan for rural residents and peasant-workers"

During the period of 2007–2010, Zhu led the research team to first conduct a sample survey on the current situation of peasant workers participating in endowment insurance. Secondly, she followed up on the progress of the pilot project of the new rural residents' social endowment insurance. Besides, she was being assigned to lead the research on the construction of social security system planning project for "Twelfth Five-Year Plan".^[8]

Based on the research on the construction of the social security system in the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan", Zhu has written in the Chinese Journal of Population Science (2010) that the fragmentation of China's existing social security system makes the whole system unfair and loss of efficiency. Public sector workers, especially civil servants (civil service workers), are “overprotected”, and non-public sector workers, especially farmers and rural migrant workers, are “insufficiently protected”. The implementation of the new rural cooperative medical system,^[10] the new rural insurance and the participation of peasant workers in social insurance, which is previously for urban workers, will help promote social security. In order to convey the findings and information to decision-making officials and the public, Zhu has attended the Central Office during the period of 2009–2010, the 21st Century Forum organized by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the seminar organized by the Ministry of Social Security, and the China Social Science Forum to give lectures or make speeches. In addition, she has submitted policy reports to decision-making government officials. Finally, the research report on the promotion methods of the “new rural insurance”^[10] and the sustainability of the system were approved by the central government.^[8]

Books

• Zhu, Ling. 2017. Food Security and Social Protection for the Rural Poor in China. Routledge, April 6, 2017.
• Zhu, Ling. 2014. “Addressing Extreme Poverty and Marginality: Experiences in Rural China.” In Marginality: Addressing the Nexus of Poverty, Exclusion and Ecology, edited by Joachim von Braun and Franz W. Gatzweiler, 239–55. New York and Heidelberg: Springer. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7061-4
• Wang, Luolin, and Zhu, Ling. 2013. Breaking Out of the Poverty Trap: Case Studies from the Tibetan Plateau in Yunnan, Qinghai and Gansu. Hackensack, N.J. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7061-4
• Braun, J.; Jiang, Zhongyi; Zhu, Ling; Credit for Rural Poor in China, Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York, 1997.^[1] ISBN 1560724420
• Jiang, Zhongyi; Zhu, Ling.1994. Public Works and Poverty Alleviation in Rural China, Chinese version: Shanghai People's Publishing House and Shanghai Sanlian Book Store, Shanghai, 1994; English version: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York, 1996.^[1]
• Zhu, Ling. 1991. Rural Reform and Peasant Income in China, The Macmillan Press LTD, London. doi: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230373181

Papers

• Zhu, Ling, and Ping Xu. 2015. “The Politics of Welfare Exclusion: Immigration and Disparity in Medicaid Coverage.” Policy Studies Journal 43 (4): 456–83.
• Zhu, Ling. 2011. Agricultural Change and Food Security in China, in Food security and the futures of farms, Published by the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, No.1, 2011, Stockholm.^[1]
• Zhu, Ling, Zhongyi Jiang, Chengwu Jin, and Zhen Wang. 2010. “China’s New Rural Pension Scheme: Practice and Problems.” China Economist, no. 28 (September): 100–108.
• Zhu, Ling, and Chengwu Jin. 2009. “Income Distribution Policy Options amid the Global Financial Crisis.” China Economist, no. 21 (July): 59–64.
• Zhu, Ling. 2008. “Impacts of Food and Energy Price Hikes and Proposed Coping Strategies.” China and World Economy 16 (6): 35–45. doi:http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291749-124X/issues.
• Zhu, Ling. 2007. “Effects of Rural Medical Financial Assistance in China.” China and World Economy 15 (2): 16–28. doi:http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291749-124X/issues.
• Ling, Z. and Zhongyi, J. 1995. ‘Yigong‐daizhen’ in China: A New Experience with Labour‐intensive Public Works in Poor Areas. Development Policy Review, 13: 349–370. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7679.1995.tb00098.x
• Selden, Mark; Zhu, Ling.1993. Agricultural cooperation and the family farm in China, in Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, vol.25, no.3, 1993, Boulder, Colorado.^[1]
• Zhu, Ling; Jiang, Zhongyi. "From Brigade to Village Community: The Land Tenure System and Rural Development in China." Cambridge Journal of Economics 17, no. 4 (1993): 441–61. doi: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23599795.
• Zhu, Ling.1990. The transformation of the operating mechanisms in Chinese agriculture, The Journal of Development Studies, 26:2, 229-242, doi: 10.1080/00220389008422149