Poor Countries or Poor People? Development Assistance and the New Geography of Global Poverty
Abstract
Two decades ago, 93% of the world’s poor lived in countries officially classified as Low Income (LICs). Now, 72% of the world’s poor live in Middle Income Countries (MICs). The dramatic shift has been brought about by fast growth in a number of countries with large populations. On present trends, the poor in the MICs are likely to make up a substantial proportion of global poor for many years to come. This “new geography of global poverty”—with the mass of the poor living in stable, non-poor countries--raises important questions for the current model of development assistance, where national per capita income is a key determinant of the volume and composition of aid flows. What precisely is the nature of global moral obligation towards the poor in non-poor countries? Should aid allocation be targeted equally to the poor in poor and non-poor countries, or should special weight be given to the poor in poor countries? How, if at all, should international agencies with a focus on poverty reduction re-calibrate their engagement in MICs? The objective of this paper is to begin addressing these questions to spark greater debate on the new geography of global poverty.Download Info
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Bibliographic Info
Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 8489.Length:
Date of creation: Jul 2011
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Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8489
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Related research
Keywords: Development Assistance; Low Income Countries; Middle Income Countries; Poverty;Find related papers by JEL classification:
- O15 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
- O19 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2011-08-02 (All new papers)
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Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Ugo Gentilini & Andy Sumner, 2012. "Poverty Where People Live: What do National Poverty Lines Tell us about Global Poverty?," Working Papers 98, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
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