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Economic growth is considered to be the most important factor for achieving a lower level of poverty, but burgeoning inequality could affect poverty reduction adversely. This article decomposes the change in both rural and urban poverty into what can be termed as 'growth effect' and 'distribution effect' for twenty major Indian states during India's highest growth episode (2004–2011). It further examines the pro-poorness of the growth in these states. One of our key findings is that while income growth plays a key role in rural poverty reduction, rising inequality appears to be a major hindrance with respect to urban poverty. Our investigation also suggests that higher growth is not necessarily pro-poor. If the growth process itself is iniquitous, it might reduce the poverty elasticity of income and, in turn, result in slower poverty reduction despite high growth. This being specifically relevant for urban India and with urban poverty increasingly becoming a serious concern, economic policymakers should adopt a policy paradigm ensuring a more inclusive urban growth instead of considering growth as a panacea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the level and predictors of life satisfaction in people living in slums in Kolkata, India. Participants of six slum settlements (n = 164; 91% female) were interviewed and data on age, gender, poverty indicators and life satisfaction were collected. The results showed that the level of global life satisfaction in this sample of slum residents did not significantly differ from that of a representative sample of another large Indian city. In terms of life-domain satisfaction, the slum residents were most satisfied with their social relationships and least satisfied with their financial situation. Global life satisfaction was predicted by age, income and non-monetary poverty indicators (deprivation in terms of health, education and living standards) (R2 15.4%). The current study supports previous findings showing that people living in slums tend to report higher levels of life satisfaction than one might expect given the deprivation of objective circumstances of their lives. Furthermore, the results suggest that factors other than objective poverty make life more, or less, satisfying. The findings are discussed in terms of theory about psychological adaptation to poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theoretical connection between decentralization and the representation-cum-efficiency advantage in combating poverty has been questioned by empirical evidence. How decentralization shall be integrated with the intervention from higher-level governments in anti-poverty efforts remains unclear. Drawing on the comparison of India (West Bengal), Mexico, and China, this analysis examines the institutional designs of the poverty alleviation programs across the cases, including the selection of recipients, allocation of fiscal resources, and monitoring, and the political dynamics that generate the designs. Despite differences in the level of poverty and political backgrounds preceding the programs, the key contributors to their success in reducing poverty lie in some common factors, including the strong commitment of the ruling authority to poverty reduction, decentralization in beneficiary identification, and centralized arrangements that reduce elite capture and the power of local brokers. These findings advance our understanding of the endogenous political nature of anti-poverty efforts and the importance of integrating devolution with centralized arrangements in the war against poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is a major reason given for entry into sex work in India. Sex work is a migratory trade where workers relocate to regions with well-developed sex industries, redistributing income from urban to rural areas. By examining the migration from rural to urban settings, this study seeks to understand how cis-gender female sex workers (FSW) navigate their multiple intersecting identities (mothers, wives, daughters, and financial providers), given the social and economic costs and benefits of sex work. In-depth qualitative data (N = 12) was collected from Kamathipura, once considered Asia's largest red-light area, in Mumbai, India. Data analysis was conducted by three coders using an iterative process of developing codes, categories, and themes using Nvivo12 software. Four themes emerged: (1) engaging in sex work to realize individual and family economic goals, (2) a discussion on the factors that support economic sex-migration, (3) the personal costs of economic migration, and (4) the precarity at the intersection of gender, migration, and sex work. The rural–urban migration of sex workers needs to be understood in the context of the gendered roles that affect their economic stability, as well as how they earn and deploy their financial assets. Human service providers need to acknowledge the strategies women have developed to fulfill their multiple roles of caregiver, wife, and wealth creators. By acknowledging these tactics, service providers become better situated to build interventions that capitalize on women's agency, that is, programs that make the most of women's aspirations to pursue their economic goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]