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Measuring Poverty (40) How poverty is defined and measured

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Is poverty the problem? No, it is the wealth!  new

f you read the economic and development cooperation literature, you will read everywhere a call for pro-poor policies. But one should now question: is currently poverty the problem? Or is it the alarming rate of wealth and inequality growth, which are undermining any poverty-alleviation measures? There is something wrong and the fault does not lie on the Least Developed Countries or the poorest segments of our societies. The problem is not the poverty; the problem is the greed and the fact that speculation became dominant.

http://www.civicus.org/new/content/deskofthesecretarygeneral.109.htm

(Added: Thu May 15 2008   Hits: 4)

World income distribution which way [PDF]

By Peter Svedberg (Institute for International Economic Studies, Stockholm University, 2003). Over the past few years, a large number of studies have aimed at estimating changes in relative income distribution across countries and globally. Some of the studies find the distribution to have worsened considerably, others that it has become more even. One objective of this article is to identify and quantify the reasons for these conflicting results. Another objective is to highlight the difference between changes in relative and absolute income distribution. While the relative distribution over the entire range of countries seems to have improved somewhat over the past 2-3 decades according to the most relevant indicators, the absolute income gaps between rich and poor countries have widened considerably. It is further demonstrated that these gaps will inevitably continue to grow for many decades to come.

http://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/iiessp/0724.html

(Added: Mon Jul 25 2005   Hits: 279)

Assessing the Effects of Population Change, Economic Growth, and Globalization on Income Inequality (PDF)

A recentent analysis - covering income inequality data from 92 countries over four decades - suggests that inequality tends to increase at early stages of economic development and fall at later stages. The most important determinant of inequality is not economic growth, however, but rather changes in population age structure. These population changes occur as mortality and fertility drop during the course of economic and social modernization. This analysis suggests that policies that make health and family planning services widely available will contribute to a reduction in income inequality by lowering mortality and fertility rates. (East-West Centre, Jeffrey G. Williamson and Matthew Higgins, Asia-Pacific Population & Policy No.66, July 2003)

http://www.eastwestcenter.org/stored/pdfs/p&p066.pdf

(Added: Fri Oct 17 2003   Modified: Wed Apr 19 2006   Hits: 429)

Digital Dividends for the Poor: ICT for Poverty Reduction in Asia (pdf)

By Stuart Mathison, The Foundation for Development Cooperation (March 2003). This paper discusses the role of ICTs in poverty reduction. It is organised into three sections. The first section focuses on poverty in Asia. The discussion begins by highlighting the important distinction between 'development' and 'poverty reduction'. The UNDP's Human Poverty Index is used as the basis for analysing poverty in Asia. Section two concludes with analysis of Best Practices in ICT for Poverty Reduction. The third section of this paper is a number of ICT for Poverty Reduction case studies, organised generally according to the categories of the Millennium Development Goals. Each case study describes the particular application of ICT and discusses targeting the poor, outreach, expandability/replicability, and sustainability.

http://www.globalknowledge.org/gkps_portal/index.cfm?menuid=269&parentid=179

(Added: Fri Apr 16 2004   Modified: Wed Dec 07 2005   Hits: 466)

Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2005

UNESCO, 2005. The 2005 survey details both economic and social trends in the region, noting the impact of both unexpected events like the tsunami disaster and bird flu and continuing challenges such as persistent high oil prices, a flat US dollar and an ageing population.

http://unp.un.org/details.aspx?entry=E05ESS&title=Economic+and+Social+Survey+of+Asia+and+the+Pacific+2005

(Added: Tue Apr 26 2005   Modified: Thu Jun 01 2006   Hits: 420)

Head-to-head: Africa's food crisis

An official from the UN's World Food Programme (WFP), Nicholas Crawford, and Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, a pan-Africanist and Director of Justice Africa, debate what is causing Africa's deepening food crisis and what the solutions might be.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4670744.stm

(Added: Tue Feb 07 2006   Hits: 458)

Over two-thirds of the world's 50 poorest countries are experiencing increases in extreme poverty

A day before world leaders gather for their annual meeting, the U.N. General Assembly held a high-level session Monday to focus on progress toward implementing a 10-year action plan for the least developed countries adopted in 2001. The verdict from the countries themselves was unsatisfactory. (International Herald Tribune, 18 September 2006)

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/19/news/UN_GEN_UN_Worlds_Poorest_Countries.php

(Added: Wed Sep 20 2006   Hits: 196)

"Poverty" Rural - Urban

An opinion peice on poverty by Sadashivan. "Economic growth is must to overcome poverty. For economic growth generation of source of income must be first priority Major population of the world live in rural villages estimated 55% in developed countries and 70% in developing countries, some more and in some countries is less. Among these rural population 60% or more has less land or no land. Majority of those having small land is because of land division among increased number of family. If father / mother have one land that is divided among all children so this small land is not enough to make as source of income."

http://www.sadashivan.com/quotpovertyquotasubject/id33.html

(Added: Thu Mar 11 2004   Modified: Tue Jun 14 2005   Hits: 463)

"The Macroeconomics of Poverty Reduction" PDF file (845KB)

Centre for Growth & Business Cycle Research discussion paper series, no. 043, September 2004 by Pierre-Richard Agénor. Puts in perspective the recent research on the macroeconomics of poverty reduction. Begins by arguing that research on poverty was, and continues to be, distorted by an excessive focus on micro and measurement issues. The debate on "pro-poor growth" is used to illustrate the extent of this bias. Next, provides a review of the transmission channels of macroeconomic policies to the poor, with particular emphasis on the role of the labour market. Then presents a new class of theoretical and applied macroeconomic models for poverty analysis. Concludes by identifying directions for future research.

http://www.ses.man.ac.uk/cgbcr/DPCGBCR/dpcgbcr43.pdf

(Added: Tue Oct 26 2004   Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005   Hits: 309)

'Small is Working': Technology for Poverty Reduction (Online Video)

Small is Working Technology for Poverty Reduction People around the world are using technologies as a pathway out of poverty to satisfy their basic needs, gain access to services, and realise their rights. The video 'Small is Working' brings together research and case studies to demonstrate the potential transformative powers of technology. The video is split into four sections for convenient downloading. The first part looks at the legacy of EF Schumacher's ideas, while the other three examine particular applications of small-scale technology by ITDG to reduce poverty around the world. 1.Small is Working 2.Women's Development Associations in Sudan 3.Improved Maasai housing in Kenya 4.Renewable energy in Sri Lanka

http://www.itdg.org/?id=small_is_working

(Added: Mon Nov 10 2003   Modified: Wed Dec 07 2005   Hits: 469)

A reassessment of inequality and its role in poverty reduction in Indonesia [PDF

In the past few years, development economists have talked in urgent terms about the importance of the quality of growth in addition to mere economic growth rates. With this in mind, this study provides an overview of inequality in Indonesia for the period of 1984 to 2002 using several widely used measurements of inequality. It found that although during the crisis of 1997 all measures indicate a decrease in inequality, it actually increased for those below the poverty line. This study provides an estimation of 'distribution corrected' growth elasticity of poverty for Indonesia, which proves to be an important explanation for how the poverty rate decreased very rapidly between 1999 and 2002.

http://ideas.repec.org/p/eab/develo/525.html

(Added: Thu Sep 29 2005   Modified: Wed Dec 14 2005   Hits: 270)

A Wider Approach to Aid Effectiveness

In this paper the authors discuss the results of research into the impact of foreign aid on human development. Rather than focussing on per capita income, as is common in the existing literature, they look at how aid impacts on a range of human development indicators, including measures, of health, education and fertility, and allow for the fact that these different dimensions of wellbeing are likely to interact with each other. Overall, aid is found to have a substantial positive impact on many development outcomes. (David Fielding et. al. UNU Wider Paper, February 2006)

http://www.wider.unu.edu/publications/rps/rps2006/rp2006-23.pdf

(Added: Wed Aug 09 2006   Hits: 299)

ADB Team Reviews Progress Of Poverty Reduction Scheme

The Financial Express, New Delhi, July 28. An Asian Development Bank (ADB) team headed by Geert van der Linden, special advisor to the Bank president, has concluded discussions with the officials of the finance ministry and Planning Commission with regard to progress of the poverty reduction strategy of the ADB adopted in the year 1999.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=39016

(Added: Tue Aug 05 2003   Modified: Tue Jun 14 2005   Hits: 336)

Advance Social Watch report 2005: Unkept promises (PDF)

Social Watch. 2005. This Advance Social Watch Report is an attempt to let the numbers tell their story. Since 1995 citizen groups from around the world have come together each year to report on how their governments are achieving in areas of gender equality and eradication of poverty. The full Social Watch Report 2005, a compilation of the findings from some 50 country coalitions will be published in September 2005, shortly before the meeting when world leaders assess the implementation of the promises they made when the new Millennium started. A team of social scientists based at Social Watch have processed the latest information together with methodologies designed and tested over ten years to produce the country by country figures and global summaries included in this volume.

http://www.socialwatch.org/en/informeImpreso/pdfs/SW-ENG-Advance-2005.pdf

(Added: Thu Jun 16 2005   Modified: Mon Jun 26 2006   Hits: 328)

AIDS, poverty, and hunger: challenges and responses

The "International Conference on HIV/AIDS and Food and Nutrition Security: From Evidence to Action" in Durban, South Africa, April 2005, provided a forum for stakeholders to collectively review emerging knowledge of the interactions between AIDS and hunger and to better understand what it implies for poverty, food, and nutrition-relevant policy and programs. As highlights from the conference, the chapters in this book amply illustrate the diversity of activity and the imperative for interdisciplinary work in this new field. (International Food Policy Research Institute, 2006)

http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/books/oc50/oc50.pdf

(Added: Fri Oct 06 2006   Hits: 228)

Analysing and Achieving Pro-poor Growth [PDF]

This report by the UNDP's International Poverty Centre examines the concept and reality of pro-poor growth. It examines the relationship between growth and poverty reduction. It looks at contributing factors to pro-poor growth (growth that is better at reducing poverty). And it provides a variety of case studies from around the world.

http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/pub/IPCPoverty_in_Focus010.pdf

(Added: Fri Mar 30 2007   Hits: 203)

Asessment report on: women and poverty, and the economic empowerment of women.

Economic Commission for Africa Sixth African Regional Conference on Women; 22-26 November 1999, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: mid-decade review of the implementation of the Dakar and Beijing platforms for action in the African region by Perpetua Katepa-Kalala NOVEMBER 1999

http://www.uneca.org/eca_resources/Publications/ACW/new/acgd_publications/Women%20and%20poverty.htm

(Added: Thu May 15 2003   Modified: Wed Aug 30 2006   Hits: 462)

Assessing the Progress on Poverty Reduction

This paper presents the summary results of the New Zealand Poverty Measurement Project's analysis of the incidence and severity of poverty during the 1990s, and assesses the impact of five social and economic policies introduced by the Labour-led coalition governments since 1999.

http://www.msd.govt.nz/documents/publications/msd/journal/issue20/20-pages197-222.pdf

(Added: Thu Dec 15 2005   Modified: Fri Dec 16 2005   Hits: 287)

Assessing the Impacts of Trade on Poverty and Inequality

By Jorge Saba Arbache, Universidade de Brasília & Francisco Galroa Carneiro, Universidade Católica de Brasilia. Abstract: This paper uses a computable general equilibrium model to simulate different trade liberalization policy scenarios and counterfactual microsimulations to assess the impacts of greater trade openness on household income distribution and poverty ratios. Our conclusion is that trade liberalization alone may not be sufficient to significantly reduce poverty and inequality.

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=447165

(Added: Thu Oct 16 2003   Modified: Tue Aug 15 2006   Hits: 386)

Assuring development gains and poverty reduction from trade: the labour mobility and skills trade dimension [pdf]

This study examines the impact of global labor movement on trade, development and poverty reduction and asks how temporary labor mobility can be better managed to improve people's lives and to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals.(UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),March 2008)

http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Download.asp?docid=9685&lang=1&intItemID=2068

(Added: Tue Apr 29 2008   Hits: 30)

Bolivia: The Country That Wants To Exist

The Progressive - October 2003. By Eduardo Galeano. A gigantic gas explosion: This was the popular uprising that shook all of Bolivia and culminated in the resignation of President Sanchez de Lozada, who fled, leaving behind him a trail of corpses. Galeano looks at the history of Bolivia, and the abuse its people have suffered at the hands of outsiders, and uses it to give context to current resistance to the IMF. Galeano, a Uruguayan journalist, is the author of "The Open Veins of Latin America," "Memory of Fire," and "Soccer in Sun and Shadow."

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=4405

(Added: Wed Oct 22 2003   Modified: Wed Nov 29 2006   Hits: 406)

Breaking Ranks at the World Bank

This Washington Post article highlights a new World Bank report that recognises that a country can't necessarily grow its way out of poverty, and that poverty can be a huge drag on economies and on growth. The report "Poverty Reduction and Growth: Virtuous and Vicious Circle," concludes that economic growth is not a panacea for the poor and that inequality must be targeted directly.
Whether the report results in a new way of thinking at the World Bank remains to be seen.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/16/AR2006021601663_pf.html

(Added: Fri Feb 24 2006   Hits: 301)

Building a Better World: A New Global Development Strategy to End Extreme Poverty (PDF)

January 2004 Subtitled: A Policy Brief from the Seattle Initiative for Global Development "The Seattle Initiative for Global Development is an alliance of Pacific Northwest business and civic leaders that believes we have an historic opportunity to eliminate extreme global poverty and, in so doing, create a safer, more humane and more prosperous world for all. Business and civic leaders have not typically engaged our country's leadership on issues of global poverty. In this increasingly interdependent world, however, we are convinced that the interests of the United States - our own stability and economic health - are bound up with the fate of the world's poor. (PDF Format - 147Kb)

http://igdleaders.org/policy/documents/IGDBrief2005_000.pdf

(Added: Mon Feb 23 2004   Modified: Thu Nov 30 2006   Hits: 259)

CARE's 10 Ideas To Rid The World Of Poverty And 10 Ways Individuals Can Help

CARE, one of the world's leading humanitarian organizations, has developed a list of 10 ideas to rid the world of poverty and 10 ways individuals can help - because the issues may be global, but the solutions lie in each of us. Though everyone might not agree on every idea, we can agree that a better and more humane world is possible. The worst failure we could suffer is the failure to have tried to realize it.

http://www.careusa.org/newsroom/featurestories/2003/oct/10092003_top10lists.asp

(Added: Mon Oct 20 2003   Modified: Wed Aug 30 2006   Hits: 532)

Causes of Poverty

(Global Issues) By Anup Shah. This webpage investigates the causes of global poverty and inequality and contains sections on: Structural Adjustment, Poverty Around The World, Economic Democracy, Hunger and Poverty, Food Dumping [Aid], IMF & WB Protests, Facts and Stats.

http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Poverty.asp

(Added: Tue Jul 13 2004   Modified: Tue Jun 14 2005   Hits: 412)

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