The minimum living standard guarantee (MLSG) programme is part of the social security system in Mainland China designed to tackle urban poverty. To understand how the urban poor manage under this programme, this study interviewed 40 households receiving MLSG assistance in Shanghai. Our findings were as follows: (a) a large proportion of the interviewees who received MLSG assistance from the government were pushed to do so because of the massive layoffs during the economic reform; (b) the MLSG recipients were likely to be trapped in a poverty cycle from middle age up until they reached official retirement age.

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