Growth, Inequality, and Poverty

Prospects for Pro-poor Economic Development

Edited by Anthony Shorrocks and Rolph van der Hoeven

WIDER Studies in Development Economics

A major contribution to one of the core issues current in development economics.
Uses new microeconomic techniques such as poverty maps and microsimulation models to help analyse poverty and pro-poor policies.
A well-balanced presentation of the major issues in the area.

Growth, Inequality, and Poverty

Prospects for Pro-poor Economic Development

Edited by Anthony Shorrocks and Rolph van der Hoeven

WIDER Studies in Development Economics

Description

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-à-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.

Growth, Inequality, and Poverty

Prospects for Pro-poor Economic Development

Edited by Anthony Shorrocks and Rolph van der Hoeven

WIDER Studies in Development Economics

1:Economic Policy, Distribution, and Poverty: The Nature of Disagreements, Ravi Kanbur
2:Growth is Good for the Poor, David Dollar and Aart Kraay
3:Growth, Inequality, and Poverty: Looking Beyond the Averages, Martin Ravallion
4:The Growth Elasticity of Poverty, Rasmus Heltberg
5:Education is Good for the Poor: A Note on Dollar and Kraay, Erich Gundlach, José Navarro de Pablo, and Natascha Weisert
6:Growth, Distribution, and Poverty Reduction: LDCs are Falling Further Behind, Felix Naschold
7:Redistribution Does Matter: Growth and Redistribution for Poverty Reduction, Hulya Dagdeviren, Rolph van der Hoeven, and John Weeks
8:Producing and Improved Geographic Profile of Poverty: Methodology and Evidence from Three Developing Countries, Gabriel Demombynes, Chris Elbers, Jean O. Lanjouw, Peter Lanjouw, Johan Mistiaen, and Berk Özler
9:Twin Peaks: Distribution Dynamics of Economic Growth Across Indian States, Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay
10:A Decomposition of Inequality and Poverty Changes in the Context of Macroeconomic Adjustment: A Microsimulation Study for Côte d'Ivoire, Michael Grimm
11:Educational Expansion and Income Distribution: A Micro-Simulation for Ceará, Francisco H. G. Ferreira and Phillipe George Leite
12:Growth, Income Distribution, and Poverty: A Review, Arne Bigsten and Jörgen Levin

Growth, Inequality, and Poverty

Prospects for Pro-poor Economic Development

Edited by Anthony Shorrocks and Rolph van der Hoeven

WIDER Studies in Development Economics

Author Information

Edited by Anthony Shorrocks, Director, World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University, and Rolph van der Hoeven, Manager, Technical Secretariat, World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, International Labour Organization

Contributors:

Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Department of Economics, London School of Economics
Arne Bigsten, Göteborg University
Hulya Dagdeviren, Business School, University of Hertfordshire
Gabriel Demombynes, University of California, Berkeley,
David Dollar, World Bank Research Department
Chris Elbers, Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam
Francisco H. G. Ferreira, World Bank Research Department
Michael Grimm, European Centre for Research in Development Economics
Erich Gundlach, Kiel Institute of World Economics
Rasmus Heltberg, World Bank
Rolph van der Hoeven, Technical Secretariat of the World Commission on Globalization
Ravi Kanbur, Cornell University
Aart Kraay, World Bank Development Research Group
Jean O. Lanjouw, Brookings Institution
Peter Lanjouw, World Bank Development Economics Research Group
Phillipe George Leite, Department of Economics, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro
Jörgen Levin, Department of Economics, Örebro University
Johan Mistiaen, World Bank Development Research Group
Felix Naschold, Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University
Berk Özler, World Bank Development Research Group Poverty Cluster
José Navarro de Pablo, Group Public Policy International of UBS
Martin Ravallion, World Bank Research Department
John Weeks, School of Oriental and African Studies and the Centre for Development Policy and Research
Natascha Weisert, Graduate Institute of International Studies

Growth, Inequality, and Poverty

Prospects for Pro-poor Economic Development

Edited by Anthony Shorrocks and Rolph van der Hoeven

WIDER Studies in Development Economics

Reviews and Awards

"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 Américas, Puebla, México

"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

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