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How Have the World's Poorest Fared Since the Early 1980s?
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Abstract
The authors present new estimates of the extent of the developing world's progress against poverty. By the frugal 1adaystandard,theyfindthattherewere1.1billionpoorin2001−almost400millionfewerthan20yearsearlier.Overthesameperiod,thenumberofpoordeclinedbymorethan400millioninChina,thoughhalfofthisdeclinewasinthefirstfewyearsofthe1980s.ThenumberofpooroutsideChinaroseslightlyovertheperiod.Amarkedbunchingupofpeoplebetween1 and 2adayhasalsoemerged.Sub−SaharanAfricahasbecometheregionwiththehighestincidenceofextremepovertyandthegreatestdepthofpoverty.Ifthesetrendscontinue,thentheaggregate1 a day poverty rate for 1990 will be halved by 2015, though only East and South Asia will reach this goal.Environmental Economics&Policies,Poverty Reduction Strategies,Health Economics&Finance,Services&Transfers to Poor,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Poverty Assessment,Achieving Shared Growth,Services&Transfers to Poor,Rural Poverty Reduction,Safety Nets and Transfers