Poverty And Development In The 1990s

This book is an introduction to some of the major issues in understanding and analysing poverty and development in the 1990s. It will help readers see through oversimple solutions and begin to find their way into what is perhaps the world's most complex and pressing problem area.

Poverty is a social problem and finding solutions requires us to look closely at our social institutions. This book brings together the most recent quantitative and qualitative data to examine the many dimensions of this problem in the United States.--[book cover].

The 'World Development Report 1990: Poverty' provided the foundation for the World Bank strategy to help achieve global poverty reduction. This report is a contribution to the strategy review process. It examines the implementation of the 1990 strategy, maps changes against assessment of Bank performance at both the country and the project level and assesses the relevance of key elements of the 1990 strategy in light of new data and shifts in the development assistance environment. The report concludes that the 1990 strategy remains relevant but needs to be combined with a more comprehensive approach. Lessons from experience confirm the importance of a holistic approach to reach the poor more effectively. This includes a focus on local level institutions and building on existing institutional frameworks wherever possible and on working across sectors for maximum impact. The 1990 strategy and the operational guidelines based on it have failed to generate a clear emphasis on measuring and monitoring results. A critical test of the Bank's evolving poverty strategy will be the design of a credible framework for measuring the results of the Bank's country assistance, and helping to build local capacity for monitoring the impact of poverty reduction programmes. The report is in English with the foreword and the executive summary given in English, Spanish and French.

This report was prepared by a team led by Roberto Zagha, under the general direction of Gobind Nankani.

Rapid demographic growth will add 600 million people to cities and towns in developing countries during the 1990s, about two-thirds of the expected total population increase. Of the world's 21 megacities, which will expand to have more than 10 million people, 17 will be in developing countries. With urban economic activities making up an increasing share of GDP in all countries, the productivity of the urban economy will heavily influence economic growth. This paper analyzes the fiscal, financial, and real sector linkages between urban economic activities andmacroeconomic performance. It builds on this analysis to propose a policy framework and strategy that willredefine the urban challenge in developing countries. ISBN10: 0-8213-1816-0 ISBN13: 978-0-8213-1816-4

Sub-Saharan Africa's turnaround over the past couple of decades has been dramatic. After many years in decline, the continent's economy picked up in the mid-1990s. Along with this macroeconomic growth, people became healthier, many more youngsters attended schools, and the rate of extreme poverty declined from 54 percent in 1990 to 41 percent in 2015. Political and social freedoms expanded, and gender equality advanced. Conflict in the region also subsided, although it still claims thousands of civilian lives in some countries and still drives pressing numbers of displaced persons. Despite Africa’s widespread economic and social welfare accomplishments, the region’s challenges remain daunting: Economic growth has slowed in recent years. Poverty rates in many countries are the highest in the world. And notably, the number of poor in Africa is rising because of population growth. From a global perspective, the biggest concentration of poverty has shifted from South Asia to Africa. Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Africa explores critical policy entry points to address the demographic, societal, and political drivers of poverty; improve income-earning opportunities both on and off the farm; and better mobilize resources for the poor. It looks beyond macroeconomic stability and growth—critical yet insufficient components of these objectives—to ask what more could be done and where policy makers should focus their attention to speed up poverty reduction. The pro-poor policy agenda advanced in this volume requires not only economic growth where the poor work and live, but also mitigation of the many risks to which African households are exposed. As such, this report takes a "jobs" lens to its task. It focuses squarely on the productivity and livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable—that is, what it will take to increase their earnings. Finally, it presents a road map for financing the poverty and development agenda.

"Vietnam's gains in poverty reduction between 1992 and 1998 were striking, and the country's impressive growth has been fairly broad-based. Households that have benefited most are well-educated, urban, white-collar households, while agricultural workers, ethnic minorities, and those residing in poorer regions have progressed least"--Cover.