Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: the human condition is structurally unequal
- Part I International anti-poverty policy: the problems of the Washington Consensus
- Part II Anti-poverty policies in rich countries
- Part III Anti-poverty policies in poor countries
- Part IV Future anti-poverty policies: national and international
- Appendix A Manifesto: international action to defeat poverty
- Appendix B Index of material and social deprivation: national (UK) and cross-national
- Index
fifteen - Are we really reducing global poverty?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: the human condition is structurally unequal
- Part I International anti-poverty policy: the problems of the Washington Consensus
- Part II Anti-poverty policies in rich countries
- Part III Anti-poverty policies in poor countries
- Part IV Future anti-poverty policies: national and international
- Appendix A Manifesto: international action to defeat poverty
- Appendix B Index of material and social deprivation: national (UK) and cross-national
- Index
Summary
The association of poverty with progress is the great enigma of our times. (Henry George, 1882, p 6)
Introduction
Poverty reduction has become a top priority for international development; new norms, facts and findings on global poverty are gradually becoming part of the established economic wisdom. But contrary to popular belief, poverty is not easy to define and quantify. Some of that wisdom needs to be challenged, based on the premise that knowledge and learning are best served by questioning established tenets rather than by readily believing them; by doubting theories rather than being blindsided by them. Indeed, arguments about global poverty are often presented in a one-sided and over-simplified way. J.K. Galbraith (1958) argued “the articulation of the conventional wisdom … is an act of affirmation like reading from the Scriptures or going to church” (p 10). However, conventional wisdom is frequently mistaken.
Five questions are raised in this chapter:
• Is $1 per day a valid poverty gauge?
• Are statistics for China unduly biasing global poverty trends?
• Is much of the global poverty debate about ‘misplaced concreteness’?
• Is equity good for the poor?
• Is a social shock absorber feasible and affordable?
Each of these questions is addressed below; a final section points to two incorrect conclusions the international community is drawing regarding global poverty trends and anti-poverty strategies. Before addressing the first question, a brief review of global poverty trends since 1990 is in order.
Global poverty trends
The average proportion of people in developing countries living on less than $1 per day fell from 32% to 25% between 1990 and 1999, according to the latest estimates (World Bank, 2002). The simple extrapolation of this trend to the year 2015 results in a headcount index of about 16%, indicating that the world is on track for reaching the global goal of halving poverty between 1990 and 2015. Unfortunately, the reality is more complex and progress less satisfactory. The number of people below the international poverty line declined by a mere 1% per year between 1990 and 1999; decreasing from 1.3 billion people to 1.1 billion respectively. Furthermore, poverty trends for most regions showed little or no progress (see Figure 15.1).
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- World PovertyNew Policies to Defeat an Old Enemy, pp. 377 - 400Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2002
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