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Is poverty increasing in the developing world?

Author

Listed:
  • Shaohua Chen
  • Datt, Gaurav
  • Ravallion, Martin

Abstract

The authors assess the developing world's progress in reducing absolute-consumption poverty during 1981-91, using new data on the distribution of household consumption or income per capita for 40 countries (at two points in time for 18 of the countries). They apply dominance tests to the distributions after adjustment to purchasing-power parity. They find that the incidence of aggregate poverty changed little. The number of poor increased at the rate of population growth. The region with the greatest aggregate poverty is either South Asia or sub-Saharan Africa, depending on the poverty line used. The experience was diverse across regions and countries. The only regions with falling poverty measures are South and East Asia.

Suggested Citation

  • Shaohua Chen & Datt, Gaurav & Ravallion, Martin, 1993. "Is poverty increasing in the developing world?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1146, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:1146
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Atkinson, A B, 1987. "On the Measurement of Poverty," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 55(4), pages 749-764, July.
    2. Datt, Gaurav, 1998. "Computational tools for poverty measurement and analysis," FCND discussion papers 50, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Stern, Nicholas, 1989. "The Economics of Development: A Survey," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 597-685, September.
    4. 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.
    5. Lipton, Michael & Ravallion, Martin, 1995. "Poverty and policy," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Hollis Chenery & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 41, pages 2551-2657, Elsevier.
    6. Ravallion, Martin & Bidani, Benu, 1994. "How Robust Is a Poverty Profile?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 8(1), pages 75-102, January.
    7. Fields, Gary S, 1989. "Changes in Poverty and Inequality in Developing Countries," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 4(2), pages 167-185, July.
    8. Martin Ravallion & Gaurav Datt & Dominique van de Walle, 1991. "Quantifying Absolute Poverty In The Developing World," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 37(4), pages 345-361, December.
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    10. Anand, Sudhir & Kanbur, S. M. R., 1993. "The Kuznets process and the inequality--development relationship," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 25-52, February.
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    12. Albert Berry & Francois Bourguignon & Christian Morrisson, 1983. "The Level Of World Inequality: How Much Can One Say?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 29(3), pages 217-241, September.
    13. Robert Summers & Alan Heston, 1988. "A New Set Of International Comparisons Of Real Product And Price Levels Estimates For 130 Countries, 1950–1985," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 34(1), pages 1-25, March.
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