Abstract: Based on the survey data of the microcosmic farmers in the poverty-stricken areas, this paper empirically examines the impact of rural finance on the growth of farmers’ income from the perspective of farmers’ heterogeneity. The conclusions are as follows: (1) the rural formal finance in the poverty-stricken areas has effectively promoted the income growth of the farmers, but the effect has obvious heterogeneity, specifically, the growth effect on the“elite farmers”is far greater than that on the“poor farmers”. (2) the inhibitory effect of rural informal finance on farmers’ income growth in poverty-stricken areas is mainly manifested in the groups of“poor farmers”. Thus it can be seen that at present stage the rural finance in the poverty-stricken areas shows obvious characteristics of “benefit the rich”. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the accuracy of financial resources input, to perfect the rural financial system, and to consolidate the basic conditions for rural financial poverty reduction and income increase in the poverty-stricken areas.

Key words: poverty-stricken areas; rural finance; income growth