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Poverty and inequality: economic growth is better than its reputation

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This chapter first clarifies the definitions of the three key words in its title--poverty, inequality and economic growth. In particular, the evolution of the concept of poverty is discussed followed by a section on the mechanical and empirical links between income poverty, inequality and growth. The concept of "pro-poor growth" is introduced thereafter and defined as growth which raises the income relatively more for the poor than the better-off groups, i.e., growth with improvements in the income distribution. The authors argue that the prospects for pro-poor growth depend both on the initial conditions and on the type of growth, i.e., in which sectors growth occurs and its degree of labour intensity.
    Publication year

    2006

    Authors

    Angelsen, A.; Wunder, S.

    Language

    English

    Keywords

    poverty, economic growth, livelihoods, income distribution, theory, reviews

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