Abstract: Rural poverty is substantial to building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. The 19th Party Congress Report pointed out that China has entered a decisive stage in completing building a moderately prosperous society and by 2020 all poor rural populations should get rid of poverty with the governmental assistance. This research on the outflow of the rural labor force carries both practical and theoretical significance in directing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Compared to the traditional research on this issue, this research examined those factors related to both chronic and transient poverty by applying both poverty and vulnerability method, and Propensity Score Matching and Difference-in-Differences methods. The findings indicated that the outflow of the rural labor force has a significant influence on all populations in poverty, and therefore, it is crucially important for all the parties involved in helping eliminate poverty in rural areas to put the outflow of the rural labor force into their first consideration.

Key words: the outflow of labor force, rural household, poverty, poverty and vulnerability