SMU Associate Professor of Political Science John Donaldson, who has written a book on anti-poverty efforts in Guizhou said, "Shifting poor people into cities can also be a way of reducing rural poverty, but it can come at the cost of increased urban poverty." Guizhou is also looking into social cooperatives to provide employment. Funded by state bodies and private conglomerates, the co-ops are mostly in agriculture and directly owned and managed by rural residents, but they have historically not been effective. Assoc Prof Donaldson said, "The track record is terrible, as most cooperatives are frauds. There are few authentic ones, and they really struggle."
