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New Evidence on the Urbanization of Global Poverty

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  • Martin Ravallion
  • Shaohua Chen
  • Prem Sangraula

Abstract

One‐quarter of the world's consumption poor live in urban areas, and that proportion has been rising over time. Over 1993–2002, the count of the “$1 a day” poor fell by 150 million in rural areas but rose by 50 million in urban areas. The poor have been urbanizing even more rapidly than the population as a whole. By fostering economic growth, urbanization helped reduce absolute poverty in the aggregate. There are marked regional differences: Latin America has the most urbanized poverty problem, East Asia has the least; there has been a “ruralization” of poverty in Eastern Europe and Central Asia; in marked contrast to other regions, Africa's urbanization process has not been associated with falling overall poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Ravallion & Shaohua Chen & Prem Sangraula, 2007. "New Evidence on the Urbanization of Global Poverty," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 33(4), pages 667-701, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:popdev:v:33:y:2007:i:4:p:667-701
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2007.00193.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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