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When Job Earnings Are behind Poverty Reduction

Author

Listed:
  • Inchauste, Gabriela

    (World Bank)

  • Azevedo, João Pedro

    (World Bank)

  • Olivieri, Sergio

    (World Bank)

  • Saavedra, Jaime

    (World Bank)

  • Winkler, Hernan

    (World Bank)

Abstract

Improvement in labor market conditions has been the main explanation behind many of the poverty success stories observed in the last decade—that is the primary conclusion of an analysis of changes in poverty by income source. Changes in labor earnings were the largest contributor to poverty reduction for a sample of 16 countries where poverty increased substantially. In 10 of these countries, labor income explained more than half of the change in poverty, and in another 4 countries, it accounted for more than 40 percent of the reduction in poverty. A declining dependency rate accounts for over a fifth of the reduction in poverty in 10 out of 16 countries, while transfers and other nonearned incomes account for more than a quarter of the reduction in poverty in 9 of these countries. A further decomposition of the contribution of labor income to poverty reduction in Bangladesh, Peru, and Thailand found that changes in individual characteristics (education, work experience, and region of residence) were important, but that overall, increases in real earnings among the poor matter the most.

Suggested Citation

  • Inchauste, Gabriela & Azevedo, João Pedro & Olivieri, Sergio & Saavedra, Jaime & Winkler, Hernan, 2012. "When Job Earnings Are behind Poverty Reduction," World Bank - Economic Premise, The World Bank, issue 97, pages 1-6, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:prmecp:ep97
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dang, Hai-Anh & Lanjouw, Peter & Luoto, Jill & McKenzie, David, 2014. "Using repeated cross-sections to explore movements into and out of poverty," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 112-128.
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    3. Essama-Nssah, B., 2012. "Identification of sources of variation in poverty outcomes," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5954, The World Bank.
    4. Inchauste, Gabriela & Olivieri, Sergio & Saavedra, Jaime & Winkler, Hernan, 2012. "What is behind the decline in poverty since 2000 ? evidence from Bangladesh, Peru and Thailand," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6199, The World Bank.
    5. Ravallion, Martin & Chen, Shaohua, 2007. "China's (uneven) progress against poverty," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 1-42, January.
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    7. Azevedo, Joao Pedro & Inchauste, Gabriela & Olivieri, Sergio & Saavedra, Jaime & Winkler, Hernan, 2013. "Is labor income responsible for poverty reduction ? a decomposition approach," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6414, The World Bank.
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    9. Datt, Gaurav & Ravallion, Martin, 1992. "Growth and redistribution components of changes in poverty measures : A decomposition with applications to Brazil and India in the 1980s," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 275-295, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jones, Sam & Tarp, Finn, 2013. "Jobs and Welfare in Mozambique," WIDER Working Paper Series 045, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Sam Jones & Finn Tarp, 2013. "Jobs and Welfare in Mozambique," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2013-045, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Marta Castilho & Marta Menéndez & Aude A. Sztulman, 2015. "Poverty and Inequality Dynamics in Manaus: Legacy of a Free Trade Zone?," Working Papers halshs-01245394, HAL.
    4. Doruk, Ömer Tuğsal & Pastore, Francesco & Yavuz, Hasan Bilgehan, 2022. "Intergenerational mobility: An assessment for Latin American countries," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 141-157.
    5. Narayan, Ambar & Saavedra-Chanduvi, Jaime & Tiwari, Sailesh, 2013. "Shared prosperity : links to growth, inequality and inequality of opportunity," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6649, The World Bank.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs

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