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Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) are a central instrument in international development cooperation and of key importance in guiding donors' policies towards southern recipients. However, many aspects of the PRSP have been criticised by a variety of development stakeholders. A checklist of 85 questions has been developed to analyse the inclusion of aspects of sustainable development in PRSPs and to point to sustainability challenges and opportunities. It thus facilitates targeted advice and quality improvements. The checklist was applied to a selection of 12 PRSPs of developing countries. The results reveal an insufficient integration of the ecosystem services concept, of biodiversity and of climate issues. Property rights, gender issues, water and energy are as a rule well elaborated. PRSPs show significant variation in the integration of environmental sustainability issues. Sustainability assessments can contribute to significant improvements between first and second generation PRSPs provided the assessments are supported by a strong institutional framework and a dedicated political commitment towards sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is a prevailing challenge in the Philippines. Through the small area estimation (SAE) of the Philippine Statistics Authority, the poor cities and municipalities with poor households were identified. Some locations are also vulnerable to natural calamities and have limited resources. The 2018 SAE shows that the region of Eastern Visayas is one of the poorest in the country. Moreover, the region is vulnerable to natural hazards, particularly typhoons. The regional road network is also less connected for the poorer municipalities. Hence, slow economic growth is a concerted outcome. To provide an evidence-based framework on potentially optimized resource allocation of, say, government institutions and humanitarian organizations in countering these poverty concerns exacerbated by natural calamities, this paper used the geographical information system (GIS) for easier visualization and interpretability. Spatial analyses were also applied to [1] determine if clusters of poverty exist in the region across different periods and [2] if hot spots of poverty incidence exist in the latest SAE. The findings reveal that poverty incidence for all four previous periods of SAE has significant non-random clusters. In addition, poverty hot spots, at varying confidence levels, were statistically identified. These hot spots are also vulnerable to frequent typhoons and have limited access to national roads. Additionally, the bootstrap regression shows that economic growth could be boosted by expanding road networks as an indicator of decreased poverty incidence. This study, thus, further emphasizes the importance of data-driven decision-making, particularly in efforts to counter poverty, including some of its aggravating external factors such as natural calamities. The application of empirical methods in formulating and improving policies, especially those related to infrastructure investments and expansions, is also recommended, given the limited resources. It also highlights how road networks in the region could be instrumental in promoting economic progress, particularly in less accessible areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the impact of the automotive sector on the regional development of the Mexican lowlands region of Bajío. The staggered adoption of synthetic control methodology was used, considering the establishment of new automotive assembly plants in the states of the Bajío region between 2007 and 2014. It is estimated that for each new job created in automotive companies, an average of five additional jobs were created in the Bajío states, 78% outside the manufacturing sector. In addition, by promoting more significant economic opportunities, working poverty was reduced by an average of 10.5 percentage points. Finally, evidence was found that, in 2018, high school enrollment increased by 3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyse the effect of foreign aid, moderated by governance effectiveness variables, on economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. Data on foreign aid, gdp and governance variables were from the World Bank governance archives covering five sub-Saharan African countries. The paper applied the ols and fixed effect panelmultiple regression analysis. From the first analysis, findings show a negative link between external aid and gdp per capita in sub-Saharan Africa. In the second analysis with governancemoderating variables, findings indicate a positive relationship between foreign aid and gdp with rule of lawproviding a positive boost toforeignaidand gdp growth, but corruptionandgovernancehave a negative relationship with economic growth. The paper highlights policy implications for the need to bridle corruption and to strengthen governance institutions to enable foreign aid to function effectively toward economic growth. The paper suggests an agenda for further research to apply more governance institution variables in further analysis of aid effectiveness in sub-Saharan Africa economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The word poverty had been and is still one of the most familiar and serious problems facing different economies of the world. While the developed countries try to minimize this menace to some extent, other underdeveloped countries wallow in its dominance with impunity. Poverty has been identified to be more associated with rural country side, and linked with some known barriers for its reduction such as government failures, deprivation, inflation and diseases. In Nigeria, although several poverty alleviation policies and programmes have been implemented the problem still persists, it is against this background that this paper examines whether poverty alleviation policies could be a catalyst to the development of the economies of the south-Saharan region that is mostly affected. This paper finds out whether it is lack of democratization, inability to tap the abundance of human and natural resources in Nigeria that could be the bane for the persistent increases in the poverty status of the populace. The paper also suggests positive and attitudinal changes that could properly implement the numerous policies and programmes, to reduce poverty to the bearrest minimum, towards the development of the Nigerian economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyse the effect of foreign aid, moderated by governance effectiveness variables, on economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. Data on foreign aid, gdp and governance variables were from the World Bank governance archives covering five sub-Saharan African countries. The paper applied the ols and fixed effect panelmultiple regression analysis. From the first analysis, findings show a negative link between external aid and gdp per capita in sub-Saharan Africa. In the second analysis with governancemoderating variables, findings indicate a positive relationship between foreign aid and gdp with rule of lawproviding a positive boost toforeignaidand gdp growth, but corruption and governance have a negative relationship with economic growth. The paper highlights policy implications for the need to bridle corruption and to strengthen governance institutions to enable foreign aid to function effectively toward economic growth. The paper suggests an agenda for further research to apply more governance institution variables in further analysis of aid effectiveness in sub-Saharan Africa economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the presence of a causal relationship between energy poverty and income poverty in the EU Member States through a Panel Vector Autoregressive specification, and controlled with a set of explanatory variables collected from the Eurostat energy database and the OECD environment database for 2007–2018. Deepening the nexus between energy poverty and income poverty is a relevant issue for tailoring policies to tackle poverty and improve the well-being of citizens, supporting the policy makers in the allocation of planned funds provided by the Recovery plan, "Next Generation EU". The results of the panel VAR model estimation and Dumitrescu and Hurlin test suggest that there will be no change in the long-run equilibrium when income poverty remains constant. Moreover, the reduction in energy poverty is expected to have a positive effect in terms of overall economic poverty reduction. Finally, there is evidence that substituting fossil fuels with renewables helps to reduce energy poverty and widespread poverty due to the leverage effect on economic development as well as to support the achievement of some of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals addressed by United Nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper had two main objectives. Firstly, to investigate the impact of economic growth on poverty reduction in emerging markets. Secondly, to explore the effect of complementarity between economic growth and human capital development on poverty reduction efforts in emerging markets. In the available literature, it is no longer contestable that economic growth is necessary for poverty reduction to take place. However, what is still not yet conclusive in the literature is whether economic growth itself directly translates to poverty alleviation. Emerging literature argues that certain absorption capacities needs to be in place if economic growth is to contribute towards poverty reduction. It is against this backdrop that the current study is also investigating whether human capital development is a necessary precondition that must be considered for economic growth to translate into poverty alleviation in emerging markets. The study used panel data analysis methods, namely fixed effects, random effects, pooled ordinary least squares and dynamic generalized methods of moments (GMM) econometric estimation methods with secondary data ranging from 2000 to 2018. All the four econometric methods were used for results comparison purposes. The advantage of using GMM approach for robustness test purposes is that it considers the dynamic features of the poverty data (vicious cycle of poverty) and addresses the endogeneity problem. The panel data was easily downloadable in World Development Indicators database and was easy to use because it was denominated in a similar currency. To a larger extent, economic growth was found to have reduced poverty levels in emerging markets. The complementarity between economic growth and human capital development was also generally found to have had a deleterious effect on poverty in emerging markets. In other words, human capital development was found to be a channel through economic growth reduced poverty in emerging markets. All these results are in line with theoretical predictions. Emerging markets are therefore urged to implement economic growth policies to reduce poverty levels. They are also encouraged to accelerate the implementation of human capital development programmes so that the people can easily benefit (get out of poverty) or manage to benefit from economic growth of their countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a comparative review is provided of the quality of EIA systems in 65 countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Furthermore, whether the quality of EIA systems is correlated with national GDP per capita in each country is explored. The review is carried out by means of an integrated EIA index (EIA Quality index – EQI). In developing the EQI, views and perceptions of experts were considered, based on Multi-Criteria-Decision-Analysis (MCDA). Results of the comparative evaluation indicate that there is great disparity between EIA systems in the 65 countries. Countries with existing challenges, such as poverty, civil war and institutional instability tend to achieve lower EQI scores. Finally, a positive (albeit weak) correlation is found between EQI scores and GDP per capita. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows that in Tanzania, economic growth contributes to job creation and employment opportunities, however, it does very little to curb income inequality. Using official data from various local sources compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics and international the paper provides an explanation for why the creation of wealth and employment opportunities in Tanzania fails to bring the level of poverty to a level roughly comparable to what is found in the region to reduce inequality between the richer and the poorer segments of society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic growth and poverty reduction now take the centre stage in most global policy discourse. This is coming at a time that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are fast gaining global relevance. Africa has witnessed the highest but non-inclusive level of growth in the last decade because the continent still grapples with high unemployment rate especially among the youths. This paper therefore examines some drivers of and constraints to growth and poverty reduction in Africa. The paper focused on Africa by using secondary data sourced from different such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Transparency International (TI), Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports and Annual Abstract of Statistics. Analytical methods employed were mainly descriptive statistics and comparative statistics. Findings showed that economic growth recorded in the continent is a 'jobless' one advancing inequality and poverty. More so, 75 percent of countries with low human development are in Africa with the continent's consistent economic growth imparting insignificantly on the livelihoods of the people. In fact, 27 out of 54 African countries were reported to have GDP of less than $USD 2000 per capita. GDP growth in sub-Saharan Africa was estimated at 4.9 percent in 2013 and this increased to 5.3 percent in 2014 and further estimated to rise to 5.5 percent in 2015. The fight against inequality, poverty and unemployment is tantamount to aiming a moving target. Youth unemployment remains a component of Africa's growth owing to persistent low productivity and underemployment in the informal sector. The resultant implication of this is manifested through persistent inequality, poverty, armed conflict and unchecked migration of young people to industrialised nations in search of the non-existing livelihood opportunities. This paper therefore recommends increased and monitored investments in critical infrastructural facilities. There is a need for multilevel and multinational partnership in the fight against corruption and social conflict to attract foreign direct investment. Investment in social security programmes will also assist the poor and vulnerable people in the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the relationship between the following indicators: income inequality, gross domestic product, risk of poverty threshold and median equivalized net income for a panel of 28 countries of European Union (EU) over the period 2005-2016. Two theoretical regression models, a linear and a quadratic one, are used to estimate the influence on income inequality of the other three indicators. Empirical estimations, using panel data techniques on three different data panels, confirm the Kuznets hypothesis that income inequality tends to increase with early economic development and tends to decrease when a country reaches a certain level of development. We found that for emerging EU countries, income inequality has a growing tendency with a positive economic growth and maybe reduced by increasing risk of poverty threshold or median equivalized net income. For highly developed EU countries the situation is completely opposite. At EU level, the influence of gross domestic product on income inequality is strongly determined by its trend in the highly developed EU countries, while the influence of risk of poverty threshold and median equivalized net income on income inequality is strongly determined by their trend in the emerging EU countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to determine the effects of economic growth on inequality and poverty in the municipalities of the state of Nayarit, Mexico, in the period 1990-2010. The municipal evolution of each one of the variables is analyzed using inferential statistics, and the type of relationship between them is determined. Through linear regressions, its intercausality is established. The conclusion is that there is an inverse relationship between economic growth and the three types of income poverty, and a direct relationexpansion rates of gross domestic product per capita) and income inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the relationship between energy poverty and economic development in India and its trend over a decade. For this purpose, we estimate a Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI) and an index of development at the district level using household level data. Empirical results show that energy poverty is quite extensive in India with substantial variations across the states and districts. Over the years, energy poverty shows a declining trend at all-India level, but with the exception of few bigger and less developed states. Further, the study records a negative relationship between economic development and energy poverty, the strength of relationship has increased during the study period. Among the components of economic development, education has a greater impact on reducing energy poverty compared with income. The study observes that energy poverty and socio-economic backwardness in India are highly correlated; Dalits and Adivasis have higher energy poverty and a lower rate in the reduction of energy poverty in comparison with the national average. Energy poverty is lower in urban India in comparison with rural India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THE MAIN AIM OF THIS RESEARCH PAPER IS TO PROVIDE AN APPLIED FRAMEWORK ON THE EFFECTS OF POVERTY ON EMERGING COUNTRIES DEVELOPEMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION AND RAPID ECONOMIC GROWTH. THE ECONOMIC GROWTH CONTRIBUTES TO POVERTY REDUCTION IN EMERGING COUNTRIES BUT IS NOT A SUFFICIENT TOOL, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL INTEGRATION. THE RELATION BETWEEN ECONOMIC GROWTH AND POVERTY INFLUENCES THE LEVEL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL INEQUALITY. GLOBALIZATION PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMERGING COUNTRIES, BUT ALSO MAJOR CHALLENGES. THE GLOBALIZATION OF THE WORLD ECONOMY INHERENTLY LEADS TO AN EFFECTIVE ANTI-POVERTY PROCESS IN EMERGING COUNTRIES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty eradication will remain United Nations highest priority after the Millennium Development Goals-2015 deadline. Moreover, although impressive achievements in poverty cutting have been reached in the last decade, progress has been uneven, as inequality has been increasing. Hence, future poverty reduction strategies should be designed taking into account the nexus between economic development, inequality and the so-called "pro-poor factors", which represent the set of policies able to make economic growth beneficial for the poor. The aim of this paper is to provide a quantitative answer to the following questions: Does economic growth reduce poverty? If so, by how much? How economic inequality affects poverty? Does the responsiveness of poverty to growth and inequality depend on initial poverty and inequality? How do pro-poor policies influence the poverty-growth-inequality nexus? Although these questions have received a great deal of attention along the years, this paper makes use of the most complete and up-to-date comparable data on growth, poverty and inequality, as compiled by the World Bank PovcalNet. Moreover, it originally employs the System Generalised Method of Moments estimator. In particular, the present empirical exercise is built on an original unbalanced panel dataset, which comprises 109 developing countries observed between 1981 and 2008, in 8 different three-year growth spells. As for the econometric technique, System GMM has been proved to be the most efficient and best suited in the context of dynamic unbalanced panels. Our main results are in line with the existing literature. First, we find that the poverty elasticity to growth and inequality is, respectively, around -2% and 2%. Second, the poverty elasticity to growth is higher the more favorable the initial conditions (i.e. -0.89% and -2.5% for, respectively, high and low initial poverty and inequality). Third, the poverty elasticity to inequality is higher in relatively richer and more equal countries (i.e. 2.6%) than in poorer and more unequal countries (i.e. 0.39%). And, finally, we show that human capital, as measured as health and education, facilitates the effect of economic growth on poverty reduction (i.e. poverty elasticity of -0.89% and -2.5% for, respectively, high and low infant mortality). Our analysis suggests that, in designing policy reduction strategies, policy makers should carefully take into considerations initial poverty and the initial income distribution. Moreover, as for the fundamental importance of pro-poor policies, and human capital in particular, economic policies should go beyond the mere growth stimulus., economic policies should go beyond the mere growth stimulus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses patterns in regional inequality within and between Malaysia's 14 states, drawing upon estimates of Kuznets/Williamson curves, σ- and β-convergence and spatial spillovers. The path of regional inequality contradicts Kuznets predictions. Regional inequality initially fell but has subsequently risen with further economic development. While Malaysian governments have been successful at reducing poverty, they have been unable to curtail regional inequality in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of mass poverty was defined by Galbraith in late 1970s and it applies to societies with agriculture as the dominant branch of the economy. This paper examines the importance of this phenomenon and factors affecting it in the contemporary world. There are a growing number of studies supporting the claim that the method of electricity consumption is a key factor of economic growth which makes it possible to escape mass poverty. Moreover, in order to solve the problem, it is necessary to determine access to capital in such countries and societies, understood as M2 aggregate. In this manner, the problem at hand is reduced to determination of the relationships between the following variables: percentage of rural population, rules of managing electrical energy and M2 aggregate. These findings were used to formulate three study hypotheses. According to the first hypothesis, the effect of the electricity use method on M2 varies from one country to another, with several identifiable patterns. According to the second hypothesis, the process of leaving the mass poverty sphere follows either the Bose-Einstein distribution or the Boltzmann distribution. The third hypothesis indicates that effects of efforts aimed at eliminating mass poverty in certain conditions are not permanent. Verification of these three hypotheses indicates the adequacy of the theory of mass poverty in the contemporary world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residential energy consumption level, structure, and potentiality are crucial indices reflecting economic and social development. In rural China, energy poverty is still prevalent, and economic poverty is a critical factor that deteriorates energy poverty. This paper combines income- and asset-based measures of wealth to provide a more dynamic perspective on the effects of economic poverty on energy poverty. Results show that for the household which in an average asset or income level, when its assets and income increase by 10%, the probability of a household choosing clean fuels increases by 0.007 and 0.002, respectively. Rural household prefers gas than electricity when household income and assets increase. To solve the energy poverty problem in rural areas, governments need to take measures to improve the accumulation of wealth, raise the infrastructure level and increase the employment rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of Muslim countries, classified as low or middle income groups, suffer from poverty and face severe challenges in economic development. International development reports attribute the economic problems of Muslim countries to similar factors as those existing in other developing countries. However, some secular studies have analyzed the impact of Islamic culture on the economic variables in the Muslim World, and consequently on its economic development. This paper reviews and evaluates some of these studies. Secular works which are selected and examined in this article can be classified into two main groups. The first group makes no distinction between authentic Islamic culture and contemporary culture which is prevailing in Muslim countries and builds its analysis and conclusion upon this misconception. The second group, however, raises objections towards some specific Islamic laws and traditional rules, considering them among factors which have hindered economic development in the Muslim world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burma's first well known welfare plan was entitled Pyidawtha or Happy Land, and it was launched in 1952. In vernacular terms, the literal meaning of Pyidawtha is 'Prosperous Royal Country'. The government's attempt to sustain tradition and culture and to instil modern aspirations in its citizens was reflected in its choice of the word Pyidawtha. The Plan failed and its implications still overshadow the development framework of Burma. This paper discusses how the country's major decisions, including whether or not to join the Commonwealth, have been influenced by language; how the term and concept of 'development' were conceived; how the Burmese translation was coined to attract public support; and how the detailed planning was presented to the masses by the government. The paper also discusses the concerns and anxieties of the democratic government led by U Nu in introducing Burma's first major development plan to a war-torn and bitterly divided country, and why it eventually failed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between economic growth and poverty reduction has long been researched in numerous studies around the world; yet, the results are far from being conclusive. Although it is now widely recognised that economic growth is good for poverty reduction through the trickle-down effect, alternative views still exist. This paper, therefore, investigates the dynamic causal linkage between poverty reduction and economic growth in Ethiopia during the period from 1970 to 2014. To address the omission of variable bias, the study includes financial development and investment as intermittent variables -- thereby creating a multivariate Granger-causality model. The study uses two proxies to measure the level of poverty in Ethiopia, namely: household consumption expenditure and the infant mortality rate. The study further uses the newly developed autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration and the ECM-based Granger-causality test to examine this linkage. The study finds that there is a short-run bi-directional causality between economic growth and poverty reduction -- irrespective of which variable is used as a proxy for poverty reduction. However, in the long run, the study finds unidirectional causality from economic growth to poverty reduction (proxied by infant mortality rate); but it fails to find any causal relationship between household consumption expenditure and economic growth. The study, therefore, concludes that while poverty reduction and economic growth are mutually beneficial in the short run; in the long run, it is economic growth that leads to poverty reduction when the infant mortality rate is used as a proxy for poverty reduction. The study recommends that policy makers in Ethiopia should pursue both pro-poor policies and pro-economic-growth strategies in the short run; since poverty reduction and economic growth have been found to have a mutual causal relationship in the short run. It is further recommended that such policies should be complementary and mutually reinforcing. If the economic growth and poverty reduction policies are well crafted and co-ordinated; in the short run, a reduction in poverty could lead to an increase in economic growth -- in a way that reinforces further reduction in poverty and inequality and benefits the population at large, while promoting higher economic growth in turn. However, in the long run, progrowth policies should be prioritised; since economic growth has been found to Grangercause poverty reduction in the long run. This would ensure that poverty in all its forms is reduced as far as is possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's economic participation has recently been at the centre of the debate on sustainable development. It is a widely held view that women have a strategic role in poverty reduction dynamics. The argument is that when women have equal access to education and full participation in business and economic decision-making, they are a significant driving force against poverty. Women economic empowerment increases earning power which in its turn raises household incomes while reducing fertility rates that triggers the population transition dynamics. This is eventually translated into well-being of children, reducing poverty of future generations. In fact currently World Bank Strategy to empower women among others includes the need to increase investment in women's health. Recognising this issue, SADC region has developed a number of gender based health polices which are in line with regional and international commitments. As a result one of the key indicators of development in the region is now the state of women's health. However overall health status has been an issue in SADC region, mostly due to HIV/AIDS infections and Tuberculosis. Globally SADC has the highest level of HIV prevalence and the most affected social group is women, between 15 and 24 years of age. Furthermore the review of literature indicates that much of what is known about the effects of health by gender in this region has been descriptive in nature. No previous study has empirically investigated the nature of these effects in this region. This chapter aims to fill this gap. This paper empirically investigates the link between improvements on health disaggregated by gender on productivity and hence economic growth in the SADC region between 1970 and 2010. Health improvement is measured by life expectancy and economic growth is measured by real GDP per capita at 2005 constant prices and data is taken from the WDI and PWT. Using Fixed Effect (FE) the findings presented in this analysis suggests that improvements in both female and male health can significantly improve economic growth in this region. However an increase in male health significantly raises economic growth greater than that of females. These effects are robust to changes in model specification. These findings may reflect women's higher morbidity rates in the region compared to men in this region that might affect productivity. They also may reflect inequalities in accessing education or formal paid work that is required to trigger the population transition dynamics and eventually economic growth. These results imply the need of some policy adjustment in order to align all SADC gender policies particularly in education, employment and improvements in health in order to capitalize on the benefits of improvements on female health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of studies have attempted to discern the causes of low productivity and slow growth in developing countries especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The effects of global economic integration, corruption, geography, financial aid and human capital indicators such as education have been widely explored. Despite the significant contribution of common mental disorders (CMDs) to poverty and to the burden of disease, mainstream growth analyses have not yet integrated the body of scholarship that identifies the linkages between CMDs and growth. There are potential benefits of prioritising CMDs in development strategies but there are several challenges. Among the greatest challenges is patchy mental health record. Poor data hinders the conceptualisation and the analyses of the effect of common mental disorders on economic growth and development. This paper explores the theoretical and empirical macro-growth effects of CMDs in sub-Saharan Africa. Preliminary theorizing and evidence suggest that improvement in CMDs is likely to be a stimulus to growth in SSA. We explore further the performance of a non-psychometric instrument known as the K-6 as a cost-effective instrument with which to measure community mental health in household surveys across populations that have various levels of infrastructure and literacy. The K-6 instrument which is a semi-structured questionnaire includes six non-specific psychometric items measuring negative affective states or psychological distress. We also collect socioeconomic data during the survey which enabled us to study the determinants of common mental health conditions among urban and rural households in Ghana. Urban and rural communities were analysed separately because they may demonstrate different determinants of CMDs. We report the outcome of the simple non-psychometric survey as well as the results from logistic regressions showing the factors that affect common mental disorders among the survey respondents. The results show that both urban and rural groups experienced diminished mental health during the food and fuel price hikes of 2008 and 2009, and from the global financial crises over the same period, compared with those who reported no mental distress. The coefficients from the logistic regression estimated by the maximum likelihood show spatial variations in mental health indicators by age, education, and per capita income. For this study, gender did not appear to be a good predictor of any of the specific psychological distress measures assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that contemporary development policies have failed to solve the problem of the maldistribution of economic resources, poverty, underemployment, and skewed income distribution. With the collapse of the Lomé Convention in 1996, St. Lucia saw its banana export market suffer a steep decline. Since then, Lomé St. Lucia has focused on market-led international tourism as the new engine of growth. Market-led development is fraught with economic cycles of up and down that lead to economic uncertainty and catastrophe for many people of limited resources. Much government revenue is spent on tourist-oriented infrastructure at the expense of a well-funded social security system. A new, morally oriented economic philosophy is called for at this time. The focus should be on a basic-needs approach and the welfare of the population rather than the needs of the market for continual growth and profit. In this regard, the paper examines the role of family land tenure in providing a common good to help alleviate the hardships of economic downturn. For thousands of co-owning heirs that may need refuge from the vagaries of the international market, family land can provide temporary economic or subsistence shelter. With an economy of limited opportunity, government policy informed by a sense of moral obligation should encourage family land as a form of social security for those numerous co-owners working in off-farm enterprises such as tourism, in which economic uncertainty is ever present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates cultural dimensions and processes of exclusion in rural Ireland and Russia that impact upon marginalised rural people by making them poor. It employs Bourdieu and Passeron’s (1977) concept of cultural capital, which provides understanding of both structural effects of cultural discrimination and individual strategies of cultural reproduction on well-being. First, it explores the function of cultural capital as a power resource that can be used to monopolise certain cultural preferences. Second, the paper studies the function of cultural capital to mark cultural distance and to put people with less-valued cultural resources in a disadvantaged position that can limit poor people’s access to social settings and resources. Third, the paper investigates the function of cultural capital to exclude individuals by means of regulating their aspirations and cultural dispositions, which degrade social bonds and limit people’s sources of economic growth. The results of this study reveal the complexity of classificatory effects of cultural practices on poverty and argue against treating culture as a residual category in poverty studies. It takes on board the findings from this study to critically re-evaluate certain stereotypes of hardship and to articulate the need for a broader understanding of rural poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper we attempt to distinguish the direct effect of financial development on poverty reduction from its indirect effect through economic growth. Using an efficient estimator called fixed effect vector decomposition (FEVD) we employ a set of panel data from 54 developing countries for the period 1993–2004. Our results indicate that on average financial development is conducive for poverty reduction but the instability accompanying financial development is detrimental to the poor. The major policy recommendations suggested by the paper indicate that financial sector reforms should be directed at easing credit restrictions while taking into consideration the effects of financial instability on the poor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recently, the first ever estimate of the number of children living poverty in developing countries was undertaken. The incidence of child poverty was estimated by establishing how many children suffer severe deprivation in at least one out of seven indicators which are internationally recognized as their rights as well as constitutive of poverty. This is a major step forward in the analysis of poverty. In this paper, we generalize these findings on the incidence of children living in poverty by exploring how to estimate the depth and severity of child poverty. Two countries can have the same proportion of children living in poverty, however, the actual plight of children could be very different depending on how many deprivations, on average, children suffer. In addition, even if they suffer from the same average number of deprivations, these deprivation could be the same for all children or be very unevenly distributed. We show how these considerations can be used to estimate the depth and severity of poverty. We use regional data to provide applied examples of this methodology. The method proposed in this paper is similar to the one used to estimate the incidence, depth and severity of income poverty. The paper also offers some possible generalizations and ways forward for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There are three main arguments why developed countries should consider managing without growth: 1) continued economic growth worldwide is not an option owing to environmental and resource constraints, and so developed countries should leave room for growth in developing countries where the benefits of growth are evident; 2) in developed countries growth has become uneconomic in the sense that it detracts more from well-being than it adds; and 3) economic growth in developed countries is neither necessary nor sufficient for meeting specific policy objectives such as full employment, no poverty and protection of the environment. This paper explores various growth scenarios for Canada over the medium range to 2020 using LOWGROW, a dynamic simulation model. After describing LOWGROW, a scenario is presented that shows conditions under which the rate of unemployment in Canada could be reduced to historically low levels, poverty eliminated and greenhouse gas emissions reduced to comply with Canada''s commitment under the Kyoto Protocol, without relying on economic growth. This is not to say that zero growth should itself become a policy objective. Rather that the dependence on and defence of economic growth should not be an obstacle to fulfilling more specific welfare enhancing objectives of full employment, eliminating poverty, and protecting the environment. The paper concludes with some policy implications for managing without growth followed by an annex which provides a technical description of LOWGROW. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper demonstrates that recent protests in Bolivia must be linked to the failure of efforts to improve democratic participation in the country. It argues that such failures can be traced to a history of prejudices in national development and society and persistent biases and contradictions within international development policy and institutions. Despite these obstacles, the paper concludes that ideas for appropriate development and realistic alternatives for change to government and democracy are visible in recent critical development thinking and amongst the different social and cultural groupings involved in the demonstrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the fast-moving world of development policy, buzzwords play an important part in framing solutions. Today's development orthodoxies are captured in a seductive mix of such words, among which ‘participation’, ‘empowerment’ and ‘poverty reduction’ take a prominent place. This paper takes a critical look at how these three terms have come to be used in international development policy, exploring how different configurations of words frame and justify particular kinds of development interventions. It analyses their use in the context of two contemporary development policy instruments, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (prsps) and the Millennium Development Goals (mdgs). We show how words that once spoke of politics and power have come to be reconfigured in the service of today's one-size-fits-all development recipes, spun into an apoliticised form that everyone can agree with. As such, we contend, their use in development policy may offer little hope of the world free of poverty that they are used to evoke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects critically on issues of North-South collaboration and participatory research arising from a project on participatory and sustainable local-level environmental management in the peri-urban area surrounding Kumasi, Ghana. Rapid immigration, uncoordinated conversion of farmland to housing, intensified resource exploitation, and declining water quality and availability are particularly pressing problems there. Collaborative research arrangements with local partners as well as sustained participatory relations with selected village communities were central to this project. More generally, the paper reflects on institutional issues relating to the dichotomy between research and development assistance projects, and their implications for project evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV/AIDS is the major threat to development, economic growth and poverty alleviation in much of Africa. And yet the full extent of the catastrophe facing the continent is only just being recognized, and still not by all. The international development targets set by the great and the good of the global community--or at least by those members of the community who attend the international summits that set these goals--do not consider what HIV/AIDS means and are unachievable. This paper begins by setting the scene, describing the epidemic, explaining why it is so important and what makes HIV/AIDS different. It then explores how the poverty/epidemic cycle works, whereby poverty increases the spread of HIV and AIDS increases poverty. It suggests we need to look beyond monetary poverty to understand these relationships. Finally the paper assesses what can and should be done to break the HIV/AIDS poverty cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the impact of the financial and banking development in reducing poverty in Africa from 1990 to 2014. The study it shows that the banking sector is a useful tool to overcome poverty in African countries in terms of further development and activity according to the points made in the revised results achieved and literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-standing conflict in Colombia has inflicted substantial costs on the population and the economic development of the country. Since conflict occurs mainly in the country's rural areas, the economic impacts of violence are higher for these territories. The purpose of this paper is to describe the impact of armed conflict on Colombia's rural population and the current conditions of rural areas as well as discuss whether the peace agreements with FARC may contribute to improve these conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has become a platitude in the academic marketplace that the world has recently become more democratic. Yet the world is also increasingly divided between rich and poor. Of the more than 30 countries that have seen some sort of transition away from authoritarianism since 1974, 29 had a 1976 per capita GNP under $3,000 (p 62). That is, what has been called a global democratic revolution has taken place primarily in developing countries still badly afflicted by poverty and inequality. The purpose of this paper is to explore some recent attempts to theorise about the relationship between economic underdevelopment and democracy, and how democracy can be consolidated, in the developing world. The paper divides recent writings into three types and discusses each in turn: neo-modernisation theory, economistic approaches, and analyses of civil society. It then briefly discusses the problems of consolidating democracy in north-east Brazil, the largest region of poverty in the western hemisphere, in light of the previous theoretical discussion. The conclusion offers an overall assessment of the theoretical approaches and a summary of the problem underdevelopment poses for democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the causal relationship between poverty reduction and economic growth in Swaziland during the period 1980-2011. Unlike some of the previous studies, the current study uses the newly developed ardl-bounds testing approach to co-integration, and the ecmbasedGranger causalitymethod to examine this linkage. The study also incorporates financial development as a third variable affecting both poverty reduction and economic growth - thereby leading to a trivariate model. The results of this study show that economic growth does not Grangercause poverty reduction in Swaziland - either in the short run or in the long run. Instead, the study finds a causal flow from poverty reduction to economic growth in the short run. These findings, however, are not surprising, given the high level of income inequality in Swaziland. Studies have shown that when the level of income inequality is too high, economic growth alone may not necessarily lead to poverty reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is focused on food problem in the least developed countries, on the chosen areas where the overall situation is the most problematic. It deals with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, belonging to the low income food deficit countries with one of the world's lowest rates of the gross domestic product per capita. The paper defines the food security situation in a global connection, representing a wide complex of economic, social, demographic, technologic and political aspects of production, distribution, shift and consumption of foodstuffs. Despite some progresses in the political situation, the effects of the economic crisis and the widespread food insecurity are expected to persist. Te humanitarian assistance is now needed to support the needs of the most vulnerable. In the longer term, the countries have the significant goal of consolidating peace and security and strengthening the overall governance, while at the same time reconstructing and rehabilitating their economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the causal relationship between poverty reduction and economic growth in Swaziland during the period 1980-2011. Unlike some of the previous studies, the current study uses the newly developed ARDL-bounds testing approach to co-integration, and the ECM-based Granger causality method to examine this linkage. The study also incorporates financial development as a third variable affecting both poverty reduction and economic growth - thereby leading to a trivariate model. The results of this study show that economic growth does not Granger-cause poverty reduction in Swaziland - either in the short run or in the long run. Instead, the study finds a causal flow from poverty reduction to economic growth in the short run. These findings, however, are not surprising, given the high level of income inequality in Swaziland. Studies have shown that when the level of income inequality is too high, economic growth alone may not necessarily lead to poverty reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asia-Pacific region includes a majority of the world's population and many of its most rapidly growing economies. It is also home to the world's largest number of extremely poor people, many fragile states, and unsustainable environmental practices. The region has increased its influence in the world economy but is still grappling to overcome complex interrelated challenges of poverty, inequality and sustainable development. Its priorities must be addressed as a central element of any post-2015 global development goal framework. Drawing from lessons of the Millennium Development Goals, this paper suggests a conceptual framework to guide a new generation of goals, along with an intergovernmental approach to implementation. The “ZEN” framework stresses the distinct challenges of achieving zero extreme poverty (Z), setting country-specific “Epsilon” benchmarks for broader development challenges (E), and promoting environmental sustainability both within and across borders (N). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the aid-growth-poverty relation by using quantile regression, which enables us to estimate the impact of growth and growth enhancing policies at different quantiles in the conditional distribution of poverty. The coefficient estimates in a quantile regression capture the marginal impact of a change in the explanatory variable observed at the τth quantile of the dependent variable. We find that growth in average income and other growth enhancing policies have heterogeneous impact on poverty, specifically that the marginal effect of growth and growth enhancing policies decreases at higher levels of poverty. These results are robust to the consideration of endogeneity of aid and use of alternative measures of poverty--poverty gap and squared poverty gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates multidimensional poverty in China by applying the Alkire-Foster methodology to the China Health and Nutrition Survey 2000-2009 data. Five dimensions are included: income, living standard, education, health and social security. Results suggest that rapid economic growth has resulted not only in a reduction in income poverty but also in a reduction in multidimensional poverty in the last decade, both in terms of its prevalence and intensity. However, many challenges remain. There are wide disparities across provinces and between urban and rural areas, with poverty being 1.5 times higher in rural areas than in urban ones in 2009. Moreover, rising deprivation in education in rural and less developed provinces should also be a policymaking concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the increased public awareness of the seriousness of corruption and the signals from the international community, Romanian society has done some progress in this direction but the Corruption Perception Index situates the country on an inferior position among UE countries. This paper analyses the phenomenon in peculiar circumstances, related with the GDP and poverty level. We verified the relationship between GDP and CPI in Romania - a country with an important level of poverty in general and on the labor market in particular. A high rate of economic growth, associated with a high degree of employment intensity, is a necessary condition in the reduction of poverty and implicitly, of corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insufficient attention has been paid to the interface between religion, business and development, allowing assumptions and stereotypes to abound. This paper takes a broadly conceptual and sociological approach to the development potential of the Evangelical Pentecostal Charismatic Movement (EPCM). Taking their cue from Weber, three questions are addressed, and three corresponding suggestions are made that are important to understanding this potential. Using the notion of 'calling' as an example, the first suggestion is that the cognitive, behavioural and social characteristics of the EPCM that are significant for development relate closely to personal and corporate purpose. Secondly, in contrast to what Weberian and secular perspectives tend to assume, the EPCM and its associated virtues will not necessarily decline as economies grow. Thirdly, while alternatives (such as Confucianism) are possible, the EPCM demonstrates considerable potential in terms of practical development impact. None of this challenges existing evidence that the movement is influenced by the 'prosperity gospel'; by world-denying pietism and supernaturalism; and by socio-economic factors often described as 'neo-liberal'—influences that have received much scholarly attention. It does indicate, however, that a more nuanced understanding of the movement and of its causal relationships is needed, given the complexity of the religion–business–development nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper has scrutinized the nexus among poverty, economic growth, employment and dependency ratio in developing countries. The primary intension behind this study is to find out the association between variables such as poverty, economic growth, agricultural and industrial employment and dependency ratio due to the gap in the existing literature. This study fully relies on cross country data and involves forty one countries which have been selected from Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. For this study, OLS method, correlation and econometric tools have been employed. Two models employed in the analysis are goodness of fit because both p-value and F-statistics in the models are less than 5%. The results bring to light the fact that age dependency ratio has had a tremendous impact on poverty and poverty has had a relatively very high impact on the age dependency ratio. Even though Industrial employment has a negative association with poverty incidence, it does not have a significant impact on poverty. The finding that economic growth, poverty and industrial employment significantly affect the age dependency ratio in model two is practicable and consistent with economic theories. Thus stable economic growth with an increase in labour productivity and labour intensive technology is an active remedy for solving this problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores trends in poverty and nutrition during economic transformation and especially the impacts linked to government support for agriculture during the process. Analysis of multiyear data for 29 developing countries confirms that structural transformation raises total income and that poverty falls faster with strong support for agriculture. In turn, poverty reduction supports improved nutrition, especially in rural areas. However, transformation brings problems through health risks associated with rising obesity in rural as well as urban areas. Thus, the transition process must be managed better, through targeted support for smallholder agriculture and health interventions, if the negative consequences of obesity and chronic disease are to be mitigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last years, Brazil has gained international visibility especially due to the capacity of its economical development and the progress of its public policies on fighting poverty. Though there reason for celebration exists with respect to the country's recent achievements, Brazil still has a lot to do if it wants to gain international prominence. In this paper we address two issues that are fundamental for Brazil to achieve real leadership: education and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we evaluate income distributions in four European countries (Austria, Italy, Spain and Hungary) using two complementary approaches: a standard approach based on reported incomes in survey data, and a microsimulation approach, where taxes and benefits are simulated. These two approaches may be expected to generate slightly different results, particularly in respect of individuals on lower incomes, because benefit receipts tend to be under-reported in survey data, and over-estimated in microsimulation procedures. However, we find that the two approaches do in fact produce reasonably consistent results, in terms of both inequality measures and poverty rates. To the extent that the results differ, we explore the reasons why these differences arise, and suggest directions for future research, in which each approach may inform improvements in the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to present recent changes in the macroeconomic policy framework in Brazil and its effects on social policy, particularly with regard to poverty reduction. From 2003 onwards, a new pattern of economic growth prevails, reducing poverty and inequality on the grounds of domestic market expansion and low income groups consumption. This paper also outlines the remaining challenges for achieving social equity and inclusion, highlighting a major issue in the pending agenda: a progressive tax reform in order to leverage the financing of universal social policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]