Growth (But Not Only) Is Good for the Poor : Some Cross-Country Evidence to Promote Growth and Shared Prosperity in Haiti

Antoine, Kassia ; Singh, Raju Jan ; Wacker, Konstantin M.

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: shared prosperity;    economic growth;    poverty reduction;    inequality;    education;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-7975
RP-ID  :  WPS7975

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Many low-income countries, such asHaiti, have high ambitions and socioeconomic needs toachieve substantial income growth, especially for thepoorest income quintiles. This situation raises the questionof policy prioritization, which is often difficult toaddress, since reliable country-specific micro data arescarce in most low-income countries. Although many studieshave investigated the determinants of growth of grossdomestic product, less is known about the factorsinfluencing household incomes at the lowest segments of theincome distribution. Focusing on the specific case of Haiti,a country with one of the lowest income levels, this paperproposes an approach to handle this challenge: it estimatesincome drivers for the poorest two income quintiles fromcross-country regressions. The results suggest thatmaintaining macroeconomic stability as well as investing inhuman and physical capital would not only be associated withfaster overall economic growth, but also with even fasterincome growth for the poorest segments of the population.Thus, there need not be a trade-off between inequality andgrowth. Economies could foster faster growth while alsoincreasing inclusiveness, ensuring that everyone can live upto their potential.