Growth, Distribution, and Povertyin Africa : Messages from the 1990s

Christiaensen, Luc ; Demery, Lionel ; Paternostro, Stefano

World Bank, Washington, D.C.

关键词: HOUSEHOLD WELFARE INDICATORS;    POVERTY MEASUREMENT;    ECONOMIC GROWTH;    ECONOMIC POLICY;    MARKET LIBERALIZATION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-2810
RP-ID  :  WPS2810

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Christiaensen, Demery, and Paternostro review recent evidence on the trends inhousehold well-being in Africa during the 1990s. They drawon the findings of a series of studies on poverty dynamicsthat use the better data sets now available. The authorsbegin by taking a broad view of poverty, tracing changes inboth income poverty and in other more direct measures ofindividual welfare. Experiences have been varied: severalcountries have seen a sharp decline in poverty, while somehave witnessed a marked increase. Yet, in the aggregate,economic growth has been pro-poor. Nonetheless, theaggregate numbers also hide significant and systematicdistributional effects which have caused some groups to beleft behind. The authors draw four key conclusions: Economicpolicy reforms (improving macroeconomic balances andliberalizing markets) have been conducive to reducingpoverty. Market connectedness is key for the poor to benefitfrom new opportunities generated by economic growth. Somepopulation groups and regions, by virtue of their sheerremoteness, have been left behind when growth picks up.Education and access to land further condition the extent towhich households can benefit from economic opportunities andescape poverty. Finally, rainfall variations and ill healthare found to have profound effects on poverty outcomes inAfrica underscoring the significance of social protection ina poverty reduction strategy.