Pathways to poverty reduction

Of the myriad approaches to reducing poverty, which have proved effective on a national scale? This article analyses 15 systematically selected national cases of demonstrated rapid poverty reduction, seeking insights into effective approaches to reducing poverty. From these 15 economies, in which the bottom quintile experienced an annual increase in income of at least 6% over at least a decade, emerge four poverty-reduction pathways: (1) industrialisation, (2) rural development, (3) social welfare and (4) petroleum-generated employment. In addition to helping us understand what policy approaches have actually helped reduce poverty, this article has implications for the understanding of economic growth, the impact of pro-growth policies, the relationship between state and market, and the roles of non-government organisations (NGOs) and civil society

Well-Being, Front and Center: A Note on the Sarkozy Report

The Sarkozy Report is a study commissioned by the French President on better ways to measure the level and progress of societal well-being than conventional economic indicators such as GDP. Despite being prepared by prominent economists-the commission was led by Joseph Stiglitz, Amartya Sen, and Jean-Paul Fitoussi-the Report rejects reliance on "production-oriented" measures of progress in favor of a broader array of quality-of-life indicators, some of them subjective, and measures of the sustainability of well-being into the future. These multiple dimensions of well-being, it argues, should be used in policy decisions and welfare evaluations. The views expressed in the Report may portend a sea-change in the way economists think about the benefits of economic growth. Copyright (c) 2010 The Population Council, Inc..