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Growth, urbanization, and poverty reduction in India

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  • Datt,Gaurav
  • Ravallion,Martin
  • Murgai,Rinku

Abstract

Longstanding development issues are revisited in the light of a newly-constructed data set of poverty measures for India spanning 60 years, including 20 years since reforms began in earnest in 1991. The study finds a downward trend in poverty measures since 1970, with an acceleration post-1991, despite rising inequality. Faster poverty decline came with higher growth and a more pro-poor pattern of growth. Post-1991 data suggest stronger inter-sectoral linkages: urban consumption growth brought gains to the rural as well as the urban poor, and the primary-secondary-tertiary composition of growth has ceased to matter, as all three sectors contributed to poverty reduction.

Suggested Citation

  • Datt,Gaurav & Ravallion,Martin & Murgai,Rinku, 2016. "Growth, urbanization, and poverty reduction in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7568, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7568
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Rui Benfica & Heath Henderson, 2021. "The Effect of the Sectoral Composition of Economic Growth on Rural and Urban Poverty," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 67(1), pages 248-284, March.
    3. Bathla, S. & Kumar, A. & Joshi, P.K., 2018. "Regional income inequalities and public investments in rural India," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 31(1).
    4. Utpal Kumar De & Loitongbam Hena Devi, 2023. "Inequality Dynamics in Urban Manipur, India: A Decomposition Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 67-89, June.
    5. Benfica, R. & Henderson, H., 2018. "IFAD RESEARCH SERIES 23 - The effect of the sectoral composition of economic growth on rural and urban poverty," IFAD Research Series 280072, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
    6. M. Ali Nasrun & Fariastuti & Sukma Indra, 2020. "The Role of Agricultural Sector in Explaining Poverty in Indonesia: A Study Case of West Kalimantan," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 10(5), pages 297-303.
    7. Tarık ILIMAN & Recep TEKELİ, 2016. "Political Economy of Poverty in Turkey," Sosyoekonomi Journal, Sosyoekonomi Society, issue 24(29).
    8. Manoj Panda & Abhishek Kumar & William Joe, 2021. "Growth Matters? Revisiting the Enigma of Child Undernutrition in India," IEG Working Papers 418, Institute of Economic Growth.
    9. Shantanu Khanna & Deepti Goel & René Morissette, 2016. "Decomposition analysis of earnings inequality in rural India: 2004–2012," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-26, December.
    10. Anand Sahasranaman & Nishanth Kumar & Luis M. A. Bettencourt, 2024. "Urbanization, economic development, and income distribution dynamics in India," Papers 2410.04737, arXiv.org.
    11. Birthal, Pratap S. & Hazrana, Jaweriah & Negi, Digvijay S., 2020. "Diversification in Indian agriculture towards high value crops: Multilevel determinants and policy implications," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    12. Ahmed, M. & Gautam, M. & Sen, B., 2018. "Waves of Change: Understanding Ascent, Descent and Persistence of Poverty in Rural Bangladesh," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277340, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. S. Mahendra Dev, 2018. "Transformation of Indian Agriculture? Growth, Inclusiveness and Sustainability," Working Papers id:12955, eSocialSciences.
    14. Martin Rama, 2019. "Challenges in Measuring Poverty and Understanding its Dynamics: A South Asian Perspective," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 65(S1), pages 2-32, November.
    15. S. Mahendra Dev, 2018. "Tranformation of Indian agriculture: Growth, iclusiveness and sustainability," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2018-026, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    16. Hoyong Kim & Donghyun Kim, 2022. "Changes in Urban Growth Patterns in Busan Metropolitan City, Korea: Population and Urbanized Areas," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-18, August.
    17. Kumar, Anjani & Kumar, Anjani & Elumalai, K. & Saroj, Sunil, 2021. "Irrigation Governance, Private Investment, and Agricultural Productivity in India," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315083, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    18. M. Niaz Asadullah & Antonio Savoia & Kunal Sen, 2020. "Will South Asia Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030? Learning from the MDGs Experience," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 165-189, November.
    19. Seema Bathla & Pramod K. Joshi & Anjani Kumar, 2019. "Targeting Agricultural Investments and Input Subsidies in Low-Income Lagging Regions of India," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(5), pages 1197-1226, December.
    20. Xingying Wang & Hongli Yan & Libin E & Xiaoyun Huang & Haizhen Wen & Yan Chen, 2022. "The Impact of Foreign Trade and Urbanization on Poverty Reduction: Empirical Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-20, January.
    21. Afridi, Farzana, 2017. "Governance and Public Service Delivery in India," IZA Discussion Papers 10856, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Services&Transfers to Poor; Inequality; Pro-Poor Growth; Rural Poverty Reduction;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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