Search

The article comments on anti-poverty policy. With respect to anti-poverty policy, two major positions have emerged-one emphasizing a structural approach, the other an aggregative approach. These positions are not mutually exclusive, their difference being a question of relative emphasis. Both hold that there is some link between the rate of economic growth and the rate at which poverty incidence is reduced. The essential point of departure between the two points of view lies with the strength of this linkage: the structural position holding that, although economic growth opens up possibilities to escape poverty, a substantial proportion of the poor are not able to exploit these opportunities and are thus left behind in a poverty backwash. In short, the crucial distinction between the two theses is disagreement over the effect of economic growth in reducing poverty incidence. The higher levels of poverty incidence among minority families indicates, of course, that family poverty is relatively more concentrated among these groups and is what one would expect to be likely.

The article focuses on the relationship of unemployment to crime and delinquency. It would appear that rises in juvenile crime go hand in hand with industrialization and economic affluence. In India, a country with a generally low delinquency rate, a sudden rise of delinquency in Orissa province coincided with the erection of a new steel plant and anew urban, industrial center in the area. Advocates of rapid industrialization stress the positive social effects of economic well being, pointing out that providing employment opportunities gives people the means of escaping from the antisocial consequences of poverty. In order to have a clear look at the relationship between employment and crime, one must discard the idea that a simple cause and effect relationship can be isolated. It is necessary to explore the exact nature and operation of the variables intervening between these two conditions. Initially, rates of adult crime and rates of juvenile crime must be separately examined since considerable evidence suggests that they are not positively correlated.

In most empirical work, the investigator's understanding of the economic process under study is only minimally reflected in the econometric methodology. This paper suggests that in many cases, the construction of a small-scale simulation can "prepare" the data for regression in a manner which takes cognizance of the theory of the process. Regression is then used to scale the output of the simulation up to observed magnitudes of the variable to be predicted. The simulation has the function of exploring for the nature of the non-linearities and interactions and thus replaces the usual search for a form which maximizes R². The simulation may also be helpful where colinear data are a problem. An example is presented in which the effects of wages, unemployment rates, and labor turnover on poverty are studied through a "prepared" regression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a procedural aspect of the war on poverty, namely the role of the office of economic opportunity as coordinator of the antipoverty war. While coordination is a procedural task, it has clear implications for the substance and impact of public policy. Coordination involves the common direction of policies or programs to eliminate conflicts and divergencies and to insure their focus on a common goal for its better attainment.

Although they are leading institutions in the world of modern development finance, the multilateral development banks have not been very explicit in outlining the development theories upon which they base their loan operations. This paper assesses the utility of the three prime theories employed by these institutions: the project approach, the macroeconomic (gap theory) approach, and the social welfare (or income distribution) approach. It indicates the questions to which each approach addresses itself, and it indicates weaknesses and theoretical inadequacies of each as a primary or sole development tool. Only a balanced and careful use of all these sometimes contradictory approaches will permit the multilateral lending institutions to fulfill their multifaceted obligations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the properties of various measures of poverty and of the ‘difficulty of alleviation of poverty’. It is found that the ranking properties of both kinds of indices can be quite counter-intuitive and that they could be misleading if used for policy evaluation. An alternative index is proposed; it is compared to the other indices and seems to fare rather well. To illustrate, a special reference is made to S. Anand's recent article on poverty in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation of American Indian .underdevelopment is based on historical data on the Cherokee people which demonstrate how a self-sufficient people have been reduced to their present state of poverty and welfare dependence. Colonialism and the imposition of White control over Native institutions undermined the Cherokees' ability to innovate effectively. This hypothesis is substantiated by similar experiences of other tribes, as well as those of different indigenous groups, such as Alaska Natives, who have been more successful in preserving their traditional cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Henry George's Progress and Poverty, published a century ago, laid the foundation for a theory that attracted a worldwide following. He emphasized that political economy investigates the way a community produces wealth and the proportions in which that wealth will be distributed between individuals. In our day that has been called `plutology,' a subdiscipline of political economy. Many of George's critics, then and now, act as apologists of the status quo, in society and in the academy. But the science's purview must be broader than plutology. Economics, to be relevant, must be useful in the solution of economic and social problems. In redirecting economists to their basic responsibility, George made a lasting contribution to economic science. He also was a perennial influence on economic scholars, even on some of his most antagonistic critics. But George is neglected because his doctrines were and are a threat to various establishments. However, by force of logic and through clarity of expression, he is a goad to the consciences of all folk of good will. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Henry George delivered his famous "Moses" lecture in 1878, just one year prior to the publication of his masterwork, Progress and Poverty. The many parallels in the thinking of both George and Moses suggest that George may have been greatly inspired by Moses. George appreciated Moses' concern with improving this world rather than the hereafter Moses, like George, advocated a minimum role for government. Moses proposed a thoroughly equitable distribution of the land which would generate fair taxes and avoid the exploitation so denounced by George. Land accumulation by the few would be prevented by requiring the return of ownership to the original owners every fifty years. George, the humanitarian, is also sympathetic with Mosaic reforms restoring human dignity such as the cancellation of oppressive debt every seventh year, and relief from drudgery every sabbath day and sabbatical year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies directed toward alleviating poverty and caring for the needy have become the scapegoat of those who decry the way in which our policies are theorized, developed, and implemented. This is not necessarily because they are the most faulty policies in the policy universe, but because they are, due to a constellation of circumstances, less culturally and politically defensible than are most policies. Most of them lack a strong constituent base, and most seem alien to the premises of democratic capitalism. A fundamental resource allocation problem confronts the many poor people, especially those who face major financial shortfalls due to injury, death of a family breadwinner, or unemployment. These individuals have a rightful claim on the U.S. government's resources to help them overcome their economic disadvantage.

Since the early 1970s, the World Bank has recognized that economic growth alone will not reduce poverty. Yet it has not fully accepted the fact that effective poverty reduction requires a 'learning process approach', rather than the 'blueprint approach' commonly used by development agencies. To facilitate the learning process approach, the Bank should consider using qualified intermediary, grass-roots, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs); stimulating pluralism and competition; and encouraging cooperation between central and local institutions. However, helping the poor is going to require more administrative resources than heretofore provided, making funds available for careful and flexible project design, staff exposure to poverty conditions and programmes, training in and recruitment of appropriate inter-disciplinary fields, monitoring and evaluation, and continual project revision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces a series of articles about poverty, development and budget systems.

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]

The article offers the author's insights on the main parameters that potential migration and development should tackle such as the existing and possible demographic and economic trends in the North and South regions. The author suggests proper policies for the reduction of emigration pressures building due to economic and demographic differentials. He says that the perceived maldistribution of population is seen as the cause of migration. He adds that people who suffer poverty are more likely to stay put in their locations, posing no threats of migration to their countries.

For Fiji, the decade after political independence in 1970 provided economic and political room for manoeuvre based upon levelling the uneven playing field of the colonial inheritance. But by the end of the 1970s, issues of post-colonial macroeconomic imbalances and structural poverty were emerging. The economic debates of the 1980s opened up a range of policy choices. Only after the coups of 1987 did the IMF/World Bank Structural Adjustment approach gain dominance. The coups were in the interest of a chiefly group who are able to benefit from partial exposure to market forces--providing this exposure excludes land--a position accepted in IMF/World Bank recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relation between economic growth and poverty, and develops the methodology to measure separately the impact of changes in average income and income inequality on poverty The paper also provides a link between the growth rates in various sectors of the economy and the total poverty. The methodology proposed is applied to the data taken from the Côte d'Ivoire Living Standards Survey conducted in 1985. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several governmental programs attempt to relieve economic stress for given segments of the population. Their success is often contingent upon how accurately economic distress in given areas can be identified and measured. The indicator most commonly used is the poverty rate or a related measure, such as the proportion of persons with incomes below 150% of the designated poverty threshold. However, these poverty thresholds are determined nationally and thus fail to take account of local income levels or variations in living costs. Nationally determined poverty thresholds obscure the existence of economic distress in affluent areas. This paper explores an alternate methodology that relates household income at the census tract level to county median household income in order to identify areas of significant poverty. The findings are then compared with official poverty statistics. The analysts is performed for Nassau and Suffolk Counties, two affluent suburban counties located on long Island, adjacent to New York City. The data used came from the 1990 decennial census. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Urban & Regional Research is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Economic growth had less impact on poverty rates in the 1980s than in the 1960s. Could this explained by Lake Anderson's observation that the higher median income, the greater the amount of growth need to achieve a percentage point fall in the poverty rate? No, higher poverty rates are due instead to the rise in income inequality. With higher inequality, however, trickle down could be as effective in the 1990s as it was in the late 1960s. More generally, assessments of anti-poverty policy must recognize that inequality is as vital to chants in the poverty rate as growth in mean income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated rural development is often presented as an effective strategy against rural poverty in Indonesia. In this article the author discusses the case of the Pompengan Integrated Area Development Project (PIADP) in Luwu, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, where a programme for land reform was part of the 'integrated' approach. In explaining the outcome of PIADP, the author analyses two properties of intervention itself in relation to the context in which it took place: first, land reform as a donor development priority which was planned and implemented as a purely technical and administrative operation; and, second, the production-oriented character of planning, which further isolated land reform from its local context. It is concluded that PIADP was characterized by fragmentation, competition and conflict rather than 'integratedness'. Therefore, rather than taking such policy language for granted and accepting the policy instruments it represents as 'models for development', we should critically analyse the sphere of policy implementation. In the case of rural development in Indonesia, the depoliticized character of land policy and its reduction to a technical-administrative routine is a major issue to be addressed before land reform and integrated rural development can make a significant contribution to the eradication of rural poverty in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses policies designed to counter poverty and income inequality within a two period overlapping generations model. The baseline is provided by a laissez-faire regime where income in the second period is determined by the human capital of the agent together with the investment in education in the first period. Within the framework of a balanced budget, two policies are examined; the provision of income support alone and then when this is supplemented by additional education for the poor. The latter policy can lead to greater mean income and less poverty and income inequality compared to laissez-faire when income is responsive to educational outlay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article compares income distribution and economic progress to neo-classical and neo-Keynesian schools. It aims to determine empirically whether there is a strong relationship between income distribution and economic progress. Its first section briefly examines the economic theories on the relationship between income inequality and economic progress within the framework of institutional economics. The second section contains the empirical analysis of the hypothesized relationship which involves construction of a model, description of the variables and data, and interpretation of the estimated results. A cross- national study with a sample of 65 countries is carried out. In the final section, conclusions and suggestions for further study are made. The analysis of income distribution and economic progress (or growth) in the past was largely dominated by the conventional approaches such as neo-classical and neo-Keynesian schools. However, institutionalism offers an alternative explanation, particularly on the relationship between income distribution and economic growth.

Previous work (Smiley, 1995) attributed failure of development efforts to the injection of aid into societies where landed institutions may absorb this aid, block growth and maintain inequality An interactive simulation model was built (Smiley, 1996) to explore the effects of land rent flows under alternative transition strategies In these simulations, the public collection of land rent was found to be superior to all other third world development and reformist strategies in achieving growth with equity The underlying ethical and economic arguments are here examined in more general classes of transitions economic transitions involving industrial and post-industrial societies, political transitions involving territorial conflict, and environmental transitions involving adverse externalities. Recommendations are made for collective action to improve both efficiency and equity outcomes from these transitions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contrasts the achievements of Indonesia and Thailand in reducing poverty through the 1980s. It is argued that estimates produced by the World Bank suggesting that the headcount incidence of poverty in Thailand in 1990 was higher than Indonesia were flawed because the poverty line used was not truly comparible. But there can be little doubt that the reduction in the headcount incidence of poverty was greater in Indonesia than in Thailand over the 1980s, as was the decline in the absolute numbers of poor people, even though rates of GDP growth were faster in Thailand. Three possible reasons for the superior performance of Indonesia are suggested: regional disparities in economic growth have been more pronounced in Thailand, the expansion of post-primary education has been very slow, and Indonesia was starting from a much higher incidence of poverty in 1980 than was Thailand. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In broad terms, reduction in poverty can come about through redistributions among households at an existing level of average income, or through growth in average incomes, or through a combination of the two. However, both theoretical and empirical considerations suggest that growth of average household incomes is likely to be necessary to achieve sustained long-term poverty reductions. But the pattern of this growth is important; clearly a growth pattern where the benefits accrue disproportionately to the richest in a society will have less poverty impact than one where the benefits are equally distributed or biased towards the poor. This is likely to be particularly important in countries where growth is likely to be slow. This paper reflects on the relationship between growth in household incomes, inequality and poverty. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses three aspects of the micro–macro linkage which are of particular interest to economists. First, is the issue of how changes in the macro environment are transmitted to and impact on agents at the micro level. Second, there is the issue of how micro agents react to their environments, and how these different reactions in turn become an aggregate effect which influences macro conditions. The relationship between poverty and growth, and the response of peasant farmers to price changes, are taken as examples to illustrate the discussion. Finally, we address the political dimension of the linkage, namely how can micro agents transmit their experiences and reactions upwards to influence macro policy-makers? © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most indicators of human development in Latin America improved considerably until the early 1980s. Unfortunately, the debt crisis which hit most countries in the region during the 1980s badly dented the social record. Not only did it increase the number of people living in poverty but it led to a profound change in the nature of the development model. Neo-liberal economic thought and the lessons of the debt crisis convinced one Latin American state after another that it should follow a different development path. Economic stabilization and structural adjustment had a profound effect on poverty in the region. Most families became poorer, particularly those living in the cities. Structural adjustment and the new economic model also modified the role of the state. Increasingly, Latin American governments stopped giving general subsidies and introduced a strategy of targeting subsidies at the poor. In places, the new strategy will no doubt provide an adequate safety net, but in others it will fail to provide sufficient help for the poor. All we can predict is that poverty will long remain regrettably common in most parts of Latin America. In places, economic growth will undoutedly reduce poverty but it is not at all easy to predict where it will be reduced. In this respect Latin America is very much like the rest of the world. Globalization has opened up local economies to international competition and offered them the prospect of selling local goods to foreign markets. How many Latin American economies will benefit from the new situation will determine how the poor will fare. Unfortunately, the state’s ability to deal with any subsequent poverty has been greatly reduced. That, too, is part and parcel of the process of globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the implications of the strong poverty focus in the new White Paper for advancing gender equality. Recognizing that there are efficiency arguments in its focus on poor women and some dangers in too rigid a link being made between gender and poverty, it is argued that an equity and empowerment focus nevertheless inform the gender and poverty nexus. This does not necessarily imply that women's subordination is adequately dealt with. Making gender a cross-cutting issue in human rights goes some way towards escaping an anti-poverty approach to women. However, this does not automatically address gender relations and there are some contradictions even within the human rights focus itself. Beyond the principles of the White Paper, the real potential for promoting women's empowerment and advancing gender equity lies in its practice. The commitment to building partnerships needs to be extended to gender equitable partnerships which imply developing skills and new forms of practice among all partners to accommodate the participation of poor women, and recognising that accountability is a two-way street. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses central issues related to population policy and economic development. Poverty and prosperity are normally marked by boundaries. These boundaries are also the borders of countries. The familiar exchange-rate comparisons of per capita incomes often overstate international differences in standards of living, but even the best available purchasing-power-parity statistics give the richest countries per capita incomes 10 and 20 times as great as the poorest countries. The statistics also suggest that migrants from poor to rich countries normally obtain great increases in wage rates, and the persistence of the migration confirms that these increases are not statistical illusions. It was shown in this paper that the coincidences of the demarcations of poverty and prosperity with national borders, and the experiences of migrants crossing these borders, offer insights for both economists and demographers, and indeed for anyone who is anxious to alleviate poverty and hasten the progress of the less developed countries. A fresh perspective on the population problem can be achieved and even begin to uncover the key to economic development, by asking how well migration and the great differences in per capita incomes across countries are explained by diminishing returns.

This article compares the approaches to poverty elimination adopted by the UK government White Paper on international development and the Australian government's review of its overseas aid programme (Ausaid Review). Both documents adopt sustainable poverty reduction/elimination as the key policy leitmotiv of overseas aid policy. However, a difference of approach is in evidence. The UK White Paper ventriloquizes the DAC and World Summit social policy targets and ambitiously elevates its own departmental policy and values to that of government policy overall--though without specifying the instruments by which this consistency can be assured. The silence on the resource implications of the overriding objective of poverty elimination, in terms of budgetary provision, could create a credibility gap between intentions and programme implementation. The Ausaid Review, on the other hand, hones its cutting edge on the complex, often self-serving array of development programmes that are often lacking in focus and harboured from external scrutiny by an overprotective bureaucracy. The Review suggests the adoption of a single value statement of 'poverty reduction through sustainable development' by which all programmes should be judged. The predominantly Australian-based tertiary education scholarship programme is criticized for pandering to domestic educational constituencies and reflecting a weak linkage to poverty reduction. However, in the final analysis the narrow geographical focus of the programme, the privileged status of PNG and the level of tied aid remain substantially intact--despite serious question marks over their poverty content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the relationship of poverty, inequality and economic growth. Income level used to define absolute poverty; Effect of inequality on economic growth and of economic growth on poverty; Impact of inequality on poverty; Determinant of economic growth.

The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD has set target rates of poverty incidence and levels of a number of human development indicators as goals to be met with the aid of development assistance by the years 2005 and 2015. In this paper we assess the likelihood that these goals will be met. We estimate future levels of poverty and human development indicators, using econometric models that capture the past relationship between per capita economic growth and both poverty and human development indicators. Our models use existing projections of future economic growth for the world's major developing regions. We find that for some developing regions achievement of the DAC poverty targets depends critically on the pattern as well as the rate of growth, as targets are only met when high or medium levels of income equality accompany growth. The prospects for achieving the human development targets, particularly gender equity ones, are good for most regions. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on sustainable livelihoods (SL). The concept of SL has emerged with growing legitimization through several major international fora including the World Summit for Social Development. Sustainable human development, offering both a policy and a programming framework for poverty reduction in a sustainable manner in possible through SL approach. The SL concept is currently applied by governments, non-governmental organizations, donors and communities. Various tools and methodologies have been developed for the design, implementation and evaluation of SL programs at the country level. The United Nations Development Programme, bilateral partners, development banks, foundations, research institutions, policy think-tanks and civil society organizations are planning to make a global shift to a SL approach for poverty reduction.

This paper discusses the impact off fifteen years of economic and social change on income inequality and poverty in New Zealand. The paper considers how a consensual poverty line was established through the use of a series of focus groups. This leads into a discussion on who was poor in 1998. Problems in measuring trends in the incidence and severity of poverty during a period when economic growth is absent and the income distribution is widening are then analysed. The discussion briefly incorporates current New Zealand debates on benefit dependency, intergenerational transmission of poverty and social exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As we enter the 21st century, a dominant trend in development thinking makes it refer specifically to the practice of development agencies. However, to accept this as the main meaning of development would carry the dangers of losing the complexity and ambiguity of development, of underplaying the importance of vision and of historical process, and of limiting development to actions and policies aimed at reducing poverty in poor countries. It is important to challenge this restricted view of what development is. At the same time, the current prime importance of practice within the development field should be recognized and development practice should be taken more seriously from the point of view of theory building. Focused work on notions such as accountability, trusteeship and public action would help here, as would work on building up a tradition of critical practice analogous that in Organization Development. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

‘Prima mangiare’ (first, you need to be alive) takes a ‘from the inside out’ look at the abstracted formalism of ‘capabilities’ theorizing as well as at the prevailing development and welfare-planning, provision, delivery and ‘part’-icipation approaches to poverty alleviation. While outside intervention is indeed a moral imperative on the ‘do-your-share’ principle, there are vast geographical and demographic swathes where State or NGO-led public action do not reach. Even though autonomous human agency is subsumed in the ‘public action’ concept, ‘capabilities’ theorizing, while enunciating timely and valid principles about the ‘what’ (e.g. in UNDP's work), has little of immediately practical import to offer when it comes to the ‘how?’: the excluded cannot ‘eat’ theory. Unlike ‘capabilities and functionings’, the latino (Moraisean) concept and practice of ‘capacitation’ offers the poor, starting with the excluded, both a theory and a practice by which they autonomously learn to become entrepreneurially and organizationally ‘literate’ in an increasingly competitive and globalizing world. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on Hong Kong and Singapore. There are many similarities between Hong Kong and Singapore. They have both enjoyed high rates of economic growth over the past three decades, averaging six percent a year in real terms. The two have become known as "East Asian Tigers," having made the transition from poverty to newly industrialized economies in a relatively short time. Both started off as British colonies, with British legal and administrative systems, and made their living as trading ports serving their respective regions. Singapore has been an independent republic since 1965, Hong Kong was returned to China on July 1, 1997. Hong Kong and Singapore are both densely populated cities. Hong Kong and Singapore capture economic rent primarily by nationalizing land and leasing it out. In 1998, Hong Kong's land area of 1,095 square kilometers and her population of 6.6 million were both approximately twice those of Singapore. Owing to historical reasons, Hong Kong's land- tenure arrangements produce an effect comparable to that of straightforward land-value taxation.

Since 1994 South Africa's macroeconomic strategy has sought to accommodate the forces of globalisation and ensure the country's re-entry into the global economy after two decades (1970-90) of relative international economic isolation. One key component of restructuring for globalisation has been a shift in the burden of responsibility for economic development from national to local government level and of the promotion of local economic development (LED) planning across post-apartheid South Africa. This paper focuses on the issue of LED planning in South Africa as a case study in the local consequences and reactions to globalisation of city regions in the global periphery. The planning of LED in South Africa incorporates international trends towards local promotion of economic growth but also includes a distinct and strong focus on poverty alleviation to deal with the apartheid legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the arguments regarding the relationship between the economic growth and poverty reduction. Impact of the macroeconomic planning integration on the economic growth; Influence of the capital account liberalization on the economic benefits; Analysis on the income distribution of the developing countries.

Copyright of Population & Development Review is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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.

The World Development Report 2000/01 builds a complex picture of poverty, and a comprehensive approach to its reduction, which challenges the still dominant neo-liberal paradigm. The significance of inequality in determining the outcomes of economic growth, of vulnerability and the need for an agenda of social security or social protection represent advances in the discourse of international agencies. The uniform and simplistic solutions of the past are dismissed with recognition of the fragility of markets and the problems of privatization. The diversity of poverty is met by emphasis on country strategies, which need to address the issues faced by the losers from the process of economic growth. Diversity has been identified — it now needs analysis. The comprehensive approach advocated should help to stabilize development thinking, to move away from the pendulum swings of policy fashion. The constraints to poverty reduction are under-emphasised — resources to provide safety nets; the problems of preventing or resolving conflict, and the potential political resistance from elites unconvinced that poverty is their problem. Nevertheless, the report provides a basis for building a new international coalition against poverty, with the Bank as one among several agencies, a situation in which it will need to clarify its role. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the fashion for pro-poor growth, there remains no consensus as to its meaning. This article proposes three possible definitions, and examines the pattern of growth over time and in different world regions. The growth of the poor's income can be broken down into a growth effect and a distribution effect. In 143 growth episodes, it is found that the growth effect dominates. However, in over a quarter of cases changes in distribution played a stronger role than overall growth in increasing income for the poor. Econometric analysis of growth regressions for each population quintile supports the idea that openness benefits everyone, but indicates a robust perverse relationship with governance. There is also evidence of a trade-off between growth and distribution, suggesting that attention to distribution will be better for the poor than going for growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the role of cities in economic development. Impact of the growth of urban economics on the social conditions of poor residents; Link between urban economic growth and poverty reduction; Role of municipal governments in supporting the development of human capital.

The article focuses on the effects of economic growth on the distribution of income. Henry George and Alfred Marshall were among the most influential authors of the late 19th century. George's best-selling "Progress and Poverty" fueled many policy debates of the time; and Marshall's "Principles of Economics," the standard textbook for decades, laid the foundation for modern economics. Each recognized the other's influence. Not only were George and Marshall important figures in intellectual his tow, but they had an important common ground in their deep concern with poverty. Both considered poverty mentally and morally debasing in large part because of its general association with relentlessly hard manual labor. George and Marshall both believe that aided by a proper set of policies, progress can eliminate poverty. With a tax that appropriates rent from the unimproved value of land, George sweeps away all other taxes, all unearned and undeserved private income, poverty, greed, and only one aspect of private land ownership-its entitlement to residual income. With more public education and a higher sense of duty, Marshall's tamed competition gradually eliminates poverty and its attendant evils.

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.

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]

Cross country poverty comparisons on unit records have, rarely, involved both developing and developed countries. The present study attempts to fill this gap by comparing poverty across fourteen nations with diverse economic and demographic characteristics and at vastly different stages of economic development. The study contains evidence on (a) cross country variation in the equivalence scales estimated in the presence of both household size economies and adult/child relativities, (b) impact of demographic adjustment of the poverty line, that incorporate household size and composition changes, on the poverty rates, and (c) sensitivity of the poverty estimates and their rankings to the ‘equivalence elasticity’. The study finds that country rankings based on per capita GNP bear very little resemblance with that based on the aggregate poverty rates. The latter hide substantial variation in the poverty estimates across different household types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the late 1990s the bilateral and multilateral development agencies placed increasing emphasis on poverty reduction in developing countries. This led to the establishment by the United Nations of the 'International Development Targets' for poverty reduction. The target of poverty reduction might be achieved through faster economic growth alone, through redistribution, or through a combination of the two. This article presents an analytical framework to assess the effectiveness of growth and redistribution for poverty reduction. It concludes that redistribution, either of current income or the growth increment of income, is more effective in reducing poverty for a majority of countries than growth alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]