The Economics of Poverty: History, Measurement, and Policy [Paperback]

There are fewer people living in extreme poverty in the world today than 30 years ago. While that is an achievement, continuing progress for poor people is far from assured. Inequalities in access to key resources threaten to stall growth and poverty reduction in many places. The world's poorest have made only a small absolute gain over those 30 years. Progress has been slow against relative poverty as judged by the standards of the country and time one lives in, and a great many people in the world's emerging middle class remain vulnerable to falling back into poverty.

The Economics of Povertyreviews critically past and present debates on poverty, spanning both rich and poor countries. The book provides an accessible new synthesis of current economic thinking on key questions: How is poverty measured? How much poverty is there? Why does poverty exist, and is it inevitable? What can be done to reduce poverty? Can it even be eliminated? The book does not assume that readers know economics already. Those new to the subject get a lot of help along the way in understanding its concepts and methods. Economics lives through its relevance to real world problems, and here the problem of poverty is both the central focus and a vehicle for learning.

PART 1: HISTORY OF THOUGHT

Chapter 1: Origins of the Idea of a World Free of Poverty
Chapter 2: New Thinking on Poverty after 1950

PART 2: MEASURES AND METHODS

Chapter 3: Measuring Welfare
Chapter 4: Poverty Lines
Chapter 5: Poverty and Inequality Measures
Chapter 6: Impact Evaluation

PART 3: POVERTY AND POLICY

Chapter 7: Dimensions of Poverty and Inequality in the World
Chapter 8: Growth, Inequality and Poverty
Chapter 9: Economy-Wide and Sectoral Policies
Chapter 10: Targeted Interventions
Conclusions: Past Progress and Future Challenges

Many economics students are motivated by the struggle for a better world. Here, at last, is the book forlăI