When is Growth Pro-Poor? Cross-Country Evidence

March 1, 2004

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Format: Chicago

Aart Kraay. When is Growth Pro-Poor? Cross-Country Evidence, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2004) accessed December 26, 2024

Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary

Growth is pro-poor if the poverty measure of interest falls. This implies three potential sources of pro-poor growth: (a) a high rate of growth of average incomes; (b) a high sensitivity of poverty to growth in average incomes; and (c) a poverty-reducing pattern of growth in relative incomes. I empirically decompose changes in poverty in a large sample of developing countries into these components. In the medium run, most of the variation in changes in poverty is due to growth, suggesting that policies and institutions that promote broad-based growth should be central to pro-poor growth. Most of the remainder is due to poverty-reducing patterns of growth in relative incomes, rather than differences in the sensitivity of poverty to growth in average incomes. Cross-country evidence provides little guidance on policies and institutions that promote these other sources of pro-poor growth.

Subject: Economic growth, Inclusive growth, Income distribution, National accounts, Personal income, Poverty, Poverty measurement

Keywords: Average income, East Asia, Gini coefficient, Growth, Household income, Inclusive growth, Income distribution, Income distribution matter, Income growth, Income percentile, Personal income, Poverty, Poverty gap, Poverty measure, Poverty measurement, Survey mean income, WP

Publication Details

Pages:

35
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Working Paper No. 2004/047
Stock No:

WPIEA0472004
ISBN:

9781451846676
ISSN:

1018-5941

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