Growth, Inequality, And Poverty: Prospects For Pro-poor Economic Development Paperback

Shorrocks, Anthony

The relationship between growth, inequality, and poverty lies at the heart of development economics. This volume draws together many of the most important recent contributions to the controversies surrounding this topic. Some of the chapters help explain why there is profound disagreement on crucial issues of growth, poverty and inequality within academic circles, and among organizations and various groups active in the development field. Another central theme is the cross-country evidence on the relationship between growth and poverty, and the extent to which it is valid to draw policy conclusions from this empirical evidence. The volume also shows how new microeconomic techniques such as poverty maps and microsimulation models can be used to improve poverty analysis and the design of pro-poor policies. The overall conclusion points to the need for diverse strategies towards growth and poverty, rather than simple blanket policy rules. Initial conditions, specific country structures, and time horizons all play a significant role. Initial conditions affect the speed with which growth reduces poverty and can also determine whether policies such as trade liberalization have a pro-poor or an anti-poor outcome. Improved education is valuable in itself, and also contributes to poverty reduction; but its effect on inequality depends on supply and demand factors, which differ significantly across countries. Likewise, the quantitative impact on poverty of redistribution from the rich to the poor vis-a-vis an increase in total national income can vary greatly across countries. Hence the need for creative approaches to poverty which take full account of the specific circumstances of individual nations and which assign a central role to inequality analysis in the discussion of poverty-alleviation policies.

0199282242

9780199282241

English

Oxford University Press

14 April 2005

304

Anthony Shorrocks is Director of WIDER, having previously held positions at the London School of Economics and the University of Essex. He has published extensively on topics related to income and wealth distribution, inequality, and poverty, and has been recently working on various issues concerned with the social problems facing Russia in the post reform era. Rolph van der Hoeven is Manager of the Technical Secretariat of the World Commission on Globalization, established by the International Labour Organization in Geneva. Having previously held positions in the Employment Strategy Department at the ILO and with UNICEF in New York, he is widely published on employment, poverty, inequality, and economic reform issues.

Anthony Shorrocks

Rolph Hoeven

Together they make a valuable collection of papers on linkages between inequality and/or trade with growth and/or povertyresearchers will find much of value in the volumes, and research students will find the reviews, methods and case studies informative and useful. * Journal of International Development * "In this well researched and excellently edited study an array of experts analyzes the relationships between poverty, inequality and growth. Although there is disagreement on many issues, there is growing agreement that poverty reduction and greater equality are not only desirable in themselves but are also good for economic growth." * Paul Streeten, Professor Emeritus of Economics, Boston University, and founder and chair of the Board of World Development * "Growth, Inequality and Poverty, edited by Anthony Shorrocks and Rolph Van Der Hoeven, is a very useful addition to the literature on the subject. Perhaps for the first time, readers will see how the thinking has evolved, converged and where disagreements remain, all in one volume. Readers will also be able to learn about the cutting-edge technical analysis (econometric and otherwise) and observe it applied to countries and regions where poverty is rampant. This book will become an obligatory source for researchers in the subject and reading material for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses on development economics." * Dr Nora Lustig, Rectora/President, Universidad de las Americas, Puebla, Mexico *