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The goal of this paper is to provide empirical evidence to determine whether microfinance, measured through a country's gross loan portfolio per capita, has a heterogeneous effect on poverty reduction among countries with different levels of poverty. We have used a panel‐data quantile regression with a data set for 57 countries for the years 2005, 2008, and 2011 to estimate the distributional impacts of microcredits on two poverty indices. Results reveal not only that microfinance significantly reduces the incidence and depth of poverty, but also that this effect differs across the different poverty levels (quantiles). The effect of microcredit on poverty reduction is slightly larger among countries where the incidence and depth of poverty are the highest, suggesting that microcredit reaches and benefits even the poorest individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan is one of the world's top 10 remittance receiving countries. This paper examines the potential for the use of remittances as a development strategy. Remittances to Pakistan do seem to promote growth and reduce economic inequality and poverty. However, they also cause the Dutch disease, are inflationary, and tend to be pro-cyclical. The paper describes the challenges in employing remittances as the cornerstone of the country's development model, particularly the loss in competitiveness, volatility and the development of a dependency mindset that high remittance inflows can foster. In the end, some steps are suggested that are needed to be taken in this regard. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses several issues related to the relationship between finance and development. Link between financial development and economic growth; Role of finance in poverty reduction in developing countries; Stability of the financial system.

In Africa's least developed countries (LDCs), escape from poverty and convergence to living standards of more advanced economies depends critically on structural transformation and the emergence of productive entrepreneurship that would accelerate growth and job creation. So far, however, subsistence agriculture has been the main source of employment in these countries, while a dynamic private sector in industry or high value-added services has remained elusive. Utilizing the flow approach to labor markets, this paper complements the empirical literature and numerous surveys on small and medium enterprise (SME) constraints and develops a theoretical framework that examines the main obstacles to entrepreneurship in Africa's LDCs. The paper posits that given the persistent frictions in product and labor markets as well as skill shortages that characterize these economies, development of productive entrepreneurship cannot be left to markets alone. The policy analysis suggests that the state has an important role to play. Well-targeted government interventions including training of potential entrepreneurs and workers can help to establish more modern and highly productive SME clusters that Africa's LDCs need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper criticises the World Bank as overly optimistic with respect to its ability to fine-tune development aid and to focus it on countries with ‘good’ policies rather than on countries with ‘poor’ policies in order to raise its effectiveness. It is shown that recipient regions showed very different patterns of aid inflows and economic growth in the past and that aid flows yielded the highest correlation to growth when their magnitudes shrank. It is furthermore argued that categorising countries by quality of domestic policies is not only questionable at a given point of time especially in countries with failing governmental institutions and open borders as in many African countries. It suffers also from incentive problems so that countries receiving more aid can become victims of changes in their domestic policies which are more permissive and etatist to the disadvantage of private agents. The paper instead pleads for a shift to aid policies decoupled from country-specifics and more oriented to fundamental ‘beyond border’ problems of the well-being of the poor. An international endowment fund under supranational law should finance research and implementation of research findings related to common international goods as it was suggested by Sachs concerning aids and tropical disease research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many low- and middle-income countries are achieving good rates of economic growth, while high inequality remains a priority concern. Some countries meanwhile have low growth, high inequality, and pervasive poverty-often linked to their fragility. There is now active debate on how countries should set themselves goals for achieving both absolute poverty reduction and lower inequality. But policy action needs to be better served by analysis and data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the importance of international development targets and education in ending poverty in developing countries. Education targets that have been discussed in policy arenas in 2005; Importance of poverty reduction targets to developing countries; Advantages of International Development Education Targets and Millennium Development Goals which has been redefined in different arenas.

After brief discussion of the general losses refugees incur in connection with displacement, the paper examines empirically the structural and institutional factors that discourage refugees from taking initiatives to recoup their losses and to construct sustainable livelihoods in countries of asylum, as well as the conditions that perpetuate poverty, vulnerability, and marginalisation. The paper argues that in developing countries refugee status, regardless of duration, leads to the acquisition of neither nationality nor denizenship. Basic rights and sources of livelihoods are apportioned on the basis of nationality and not residence. Lack of belonging to a spatially bounded community or geo-political state entity is therefore the single most important factor that prevents formulation and implementation of long-term development programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical investigation of the link between financial development and economic growth has established that finance exerts a significant and positive influence on growth. This paper extends this line of analysis by examining the contribution that financial development makes to poverty reduction in low-income countries. The results reported support the contention that financial sector development policy can contribute to achieving the goal of poverty reduction in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents abstracts of articles on poverty and economic development. "Broadening the Agenda for Poverty Reduction: Opportunity, Empowerment, Security," by Nora Lustig and Nicholas Stern, published in the 2000 issue of "Finance and Development"; "Building on Poor People's Capacities: The Case of Common Property Resources in India and West Africa," by Tony Beck and Cathy Nesmith, published in the 2001 issue of "World Development"; "Economic Mobility and Poverty Dynamics in Developing Countries," by Bob Baulch and John Hoddinott," published in the 2000 issue of "Journal of Development Studies"; "From the Culture of Poverty to Inclusive Cities: Re-framing Urban Policy and Politics," by Jo Bealt, published in the 2000 issue of "Journal of International Development.

This paper studies the impact of remittances on cross-country poverty using a panel data set from 65 developing counties over a long period 1970-2008. This study differs from the existing literature on poverty impact of remittances by explicitly noting the importance of financial development in shaping the link. This analysis shows that the effect of remittances on poverty depends on the level of financial development of a remittances receiving economy. Those economies that have a low level of financial development seem to acquire an unfavourable effect of remittances while economies with comparatively developed financial systems do not suffer from the adverse effects of remittances. In sum, remittances accentuate not ameliorate poverty in countries with the low level of financial development. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of foreign aid on poverty. The impact of aid on poverty is assessed using dynamic panel estimation techniques, which enable us to control for time-invariant country-specific effects and endogeneity of aid. The results suggest that aid has a significant poverty-reducing effect even after controlling for average income. Specifically, foreign aid is associated with a decline in poverty as measured by the poverty rate, poverty gap index and squared poverty gap index. We also find that the composition of aid matters-multilateral aid and grants do better in reducing poverty than bilateral aid and loans. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering sustainability a matter of intergenerational welfare equity, this paper examines whether an optimal development path can also be sustainable. It argues that the general 'zero-net-aggregate-investment' condition for an optimal development path to be sustainable in the sense of the maximin criterion of intergenerational justice is too demanding to be practical, especially in the context of developing countries. It further argues that while the maximin criterion of sustainability may be appealing to the rich advanced industrial countries, for the poor developing countries it implies equalization of poverty across generations, and as such is too costly a moral obligation to be acceptable. The paper suggests that a compromise development policy that follows the optimal growth approach but adopts certain measures to mitigate both the intergenerational and intragenerational welfare inequalities may be more appropriate for these countries. Some of the principal elements of such a policy are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Donors increasingly acknowledge that, without the participation of the private sector, achievement of the Millennium Development Goals is unlikely. Up until recently, priority has been given to improving the business enabling environment in developing countries, so as to remove unnecessary impediments to profit-making activity. Whilst this approach has undoubted merit it does not yet seem to be stimulating change at the pace or scale required. This paper argues that there is now a clear case for directly engaging international business in the poverty reduction agenda. It argues that such efforts will have the greatest development impact where profit-making is the driving force, and considers how the impact of such initiatives might best be measured. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarises the findings from a major international research project on the poverty impacts of a potential Doha Development Agenda. It draws on an intensive analysis of the DDA Framework Agreement and associated scenarios. The implications for world markets are established using a global modelling framework, the outputs of which form the basis for a dozen country case studies of the national poverty impacts of the DDA scenarios. Liberalisation targets under the DDA have to be quite ambitious if the round is to have a measurable impact on poverty. We expect the near-term poverty impacts to be mixed; some countries experience small poverty increases and others more substantial poverty declines. On balance, poverty is reduced under the core DDA scenario, and this reduction is more pronounced in the longer run. Deeper cuts in developing country tariffs are found to make the DDA more poverty friendly. It is also clear that, in order to generate significant poverty reductions in the near term, complementary domestic reforms are required to enable households to take advantage of the new market opportunities. Over the long run, sustained poverty reduction depends on stimulating economic growth, which suggests that trade reforms must go beyond tariffs and subsidies, also addressing barriers to services trade and investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Market failures affecting economic growth in poor rural areas are firmly on the agenda but for goods and services with private good characteristics are generally not conceptualized and understood in ways that help policy analysis and formulation to recognize and address these failures. We need greater recognition and understanding of the causes and nature of coordination failures that lead to these market failures. This paper examines core features of poor rural areas, the nature of coordination problems faced by different potential economic actors, the impacts of these problems on markets and economic development and ways that these have been addressed or ignored in different policies and policy approaches in Asia and Africa. We conclude by drawing out the implications for policies seeking to promote pro-poor economic growth in poor rural areas today. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dominant view in academic and policy arenas is increasingly one in which the major contribution of capture fisheries to development should be derived from the capacity of society to maximise the economic rent of fishery resources. Drawing upon empirical experience from the South, this article highlights the potentially disastrous consequences that a universal implementation of the rent-maximisation model would have in developing countries, and argues that a more gradual approach would be preferable. The welfare function of small-scale fisheries, namely, their capacities to provide labour and cash income to resource-poor households, should be preserved until the appropriate macroeconomic conditions for rent-maximisation and redistribution are fulfilled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern economies, the advancement of well‐being of the citizens should be in an inclusive and sustainable way. In this respect, the sustainable welfare targets should exclusively include three main pillars: economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection. These pillars consist of qualitative and nonmonetary, as well as monetary and quantitative indicators to monitor. Although sustainable development today is well‐appreciated in most governments' agenda, yet it is generally not a trivial task to measure its progress especially due to multidimensional nature of some targets. In this article, sustainable development is measured by using a wide range of indicators within multidimensional perspective of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2015. Indicators cover wide spectrum of areas such as poverty reduction, health, education, gender equality, and environment. An index creation method is developed for measuring the level and the performance of countries' progress through achieving MDGs. The index score levels and the rankings of countries are compared with similar indexes developed by United Nations. Finally, countries are classified according to their achievements relative to other countries (which is measured by the index) versus their self‐achievement performances (in terms of improvement of the index over years) in a big matrix. Results demonstrate the importance of measuring country performances in both dimensions. Understanding the progress in MDGs can help settle on binding targets for achieving the country specific goals in economic and noneconomic areas and on the mechanisms to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030, which set amid on the success of MDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article reports the termination of Cape Verde's classification as a least developed country by 2008. This turning point coincides with various notable events on the country's economy including its significant growth by 10.8 percent and increased revenues from the tourism sector. José Brito, Minister of Economy, Growth and Competitiveness, stresses that the growth of accumulated profit generated by the sector serves as a surplus for the government's operating budget. However, despite this development Cape Verde remains to keep an official poverty rate of 37 percent as it continues to count on grants and loan aid.

Despite its rapid economic growth, China remains a developing country facing serious challenges of poverty and inequality. This article examines the development and effectiveness of China's primary anti-poverty family policy, the Minimum Living Standard Assurance ( MLSA, or Dibao). Using rich administrative data and building on the existing literature, this article provides a critical evaluation of MLSA's benefit generosity, coverage, targeting, and anti-poverty effectiveness. To help reinforce MLSA's anti-poverty impacts, local governments in recent years have implemented a series of supplementary policies and programs, including health, education, housing, and work support programs. This article also provides an assessment of these supplementary policies and programs and draws policy implications for the ongoing expansion of the Chinese government's anti-poverty efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the sake of less developed countries, it is time to adjust the discussion of international development assistance on poverty reduction. This article attempts to do so by reviewing new and old literature explaining why some countries are rich and others are poor. History has repeatedly shown that building up capabilities in manufacturing and improving the productivity of agriculture are the keys to wealth creation and long-term sustained poverty reduction. Furthermore, industrialisation and increased agricultural productivity are interdependent processes. Discussion about ending world poverty needs to be shifted back to consideration of economic transformation and the role foreign aid can reasonably play in achieving these objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture is equated with the reduction of poverty by intergovernmental agencies such as the FAO, which advocate the promotion of small-scale aquaculture through project-based interventions. There is a lack of convincing empirical evidence to support the efficacy of this type of intervention, however. Meanwhile, commercial cultured freshwater fish production has increased hugely throughout Asia, despite limited direct donor or government support. Its impact with respect to poverty also remains ambiguous, however. This article critically evaluates the developmental impacts of both immanent and interventionist forms of aquaculture and advances finely nuanced interpretations of both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accountability movement in public policy hails a new programme for US foreign assistance - the Millennium Challenge Account established in 2004 with the aim of 'picking winners' for grants among developing countries based on their demonstrated quality of governance. This article uses the MCA's own rating system to dispute its claim to know in advance which countries are best positioned to meet major development goals. High governance scores alone bear little or no relationship to growth in national income or decline in poverty. Attempting to measure public-policy performance limits the range of choice available to policy-makers, and may inadvertently limit true performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses on the measure used to gauge poverty in the U.S., Europe and other developing countries. It discusses that the present official measure of poverty in the U.S. is flawed and both, the poverty threshold and measurement of available resources should be improved. It reports that European countries provided with sufficient social aid but they face a technical problem of relative poverty threshold. Also mentioned are the levels of economic development in developing and underdeveloped countries.

The pursuit of high economic growth is considered desirable as it generates an increase in a nation's wealth, income, employment and output. The rising income should enable consumers to purchase more goods and services, which in turn should result in enhanced utility and subjective happiness. Empirical studies suggest that higher income resulting from high rates of economic growth contribute to poverty alleviation and life satisfaction in low income countries. Higher income raises the happiness of the poor. In developed countries, higher income does not seem to “buy” higher happiness, once a threshold level of income is reached. This exploratory study seeks to examine the quantitative and qualitative sources of happiness. A higher absolute level of income is found to be significantly related to subjective happiness. Among the non-income factors, family togetherness, a good working environment and a higher level of education can contribute to making people happier. Happiness thus involves more than just economic growth and income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has two goals: (i) to reduce the 7-fold productivity differential required to explain the observed 33-fold income difference between the richest and poorest countries of the world; and (ii) to explain cross-country differences in the capital-output ratio. To achieve the first goal we modify the production function of the standard neoclassical growth model to include public capital whose provision is subject to intermediation costs. For the second goal we distort private investment by introducing credit frictions. The model, quantified using cross-country data, generates an income gap of 33 with productivity differences of only 3 under the measured variations in public and private capital. The required productivity gap declines even further, to 2.1, when we introduce a home-production sector. On the second goal, however, credit frictions do a poor job of explaining cross-country variations in the capital-output ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the availability of effective, affordable interventions for the most common causes of death, more than ten million children in developing countries die each year. This article describes the circumstances of four countries whose reductions in child mortality exceeded what might be expected from their poor economic circumstances, and it asks whether they followed common routes to improved health for children. The findings suggest that contextual factors, such as the degree of economic development, good governance, and strong health care systems, matter less than do targeted health intervention, foreign aid, and technical assistance. In general, these findings contradict prevailing U.S. foreign policy regarding the circumstances in which progress toward health goals can be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The achievement of economic growth and social equity in developing nations, whatever path they pursue, has been hampered by uncertainty, instability, and uncontrollability in budgeting. It appears likely that left to themselves, these budget systems will continue largely unchanged, with little or no progress toward eliminating poverty and advancing development. However, several options are available for restructuring budget systems through implementation of carefully devised systematic action plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]