There are a number of publications and peer-reviewed research papers on global child poverty published in the last few months.
Poverty and Gender Inequalities: Evidence from Young Lives
(Pells, K. Young Lives Policy Brief, Number 3; September 2011.)
Analysis of Young Lives data offers a more nuanced picture of gender dynamics than that which is often presented in international policy debates, showing inequalities affecting both boys and girls at different ages through intra-household dynamics, sociocultural context and economic pressures.
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Snakes and Ladders, Buffers and Passports: Rethinking Poverty, Vulnerability and Wellbeing
(Sumner, A. and Mallett, R; IPC-IG Working Paper #83; August 2011.)
Much research to date has tended to view vulnerability by discipline or sector, yet individuals and households experience multiple, interacting and sometimes compound vulnerabilities. Cross-disciplinary thinking is emerging as multi-dimensional vulnerability is likely to become an increasingly important concept if the outlook over the next 15 to 25 years is one of multiple, interacting and compound stressors and crises, a result of the “perfect-s torm” or “long-crisis” thesis of the interaction of demographics, climate change and food and energy prices. A realigned analytical lens is thus useful to bring together the various intellectual strands involved in multi-dimensional vulnerability analysis. In light of the above, this paper reviews the literature on vulnerability and asks what a “three-dimensional human wellbeing” approach—a complement to more traditional ways of understanding poverty—might contribute to the analysis of vulnerability.
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Multidimensional Indices of Achievements and Poverty: What Do We Gain and What Do We Lose? (Lustig, N.; Center for Global Development Working Paper #262; August 2011)
Poverty and well-being are multidimensional. Nobody questions that deprivations and achievements go beyond income. There is, however, sharp disagreement on whether the various dimensions of poverty and well-being can be aggregated into a single, multidimensional index in a meaningful way. Is aggregating dimensions of poverty and well-being useful? Is it sensible? Here CGD non-resident fellow Nora Lustig summarizes and contrasts three key papers that respond to these questions in strikingly different ways. At the bottom of the discussion is a fundamental disagreement on the “legitimacy” of the weights used to aggregate dimensions of well-being. Future research will need to focus on how to identify weights in ways that are consistent 1) with welfare economics and 2) with theories of justice. Will we have to choose between the two?
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Macroeconomic Policy for Growth and Poverty Reduction: An Application to Post-Conflict and Resource-Rich Countries
(Hailu, D. and Weeks, J; United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Working Paper #108, ST/ESA/2011/DWP/108; July 2011)
A fundamental shift in macroeconomic policy thinking is taking place. This shift opens a space for implementing policies that promote growth and reduce poverty in developing countries. In this paper, policies for post-conflict and resource-rich economies are outlined. Fiscal policy would focus on revenue mobilization, scaling-up public investment, and preventing over-heating. Monetary policies would revive the financial sector, prevent inflationary pressures and stimulate private sector investment. Exchange rate policies should focus on achieving slow depreciation and maintaining international competitiveness. These policies should not be considered in isolation from each other, but in coordination.
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(Gertz, G. and Chandy, L; Global Economy and Development at Brookings; May 2011)
We are living through a period of rapid global poverty reduction. According to recent estimates, high, sustained growth across most of the developing world allowed nearly half a billion people to escape $1.25-a-day poverty between 2005 and 2010. Never before have so many people been lifted out of poverty over such a brief period. While the overall prevalence of poverty is in retreat, the global poverty landscape is changing. This transformation is captured by two distinct trends: poor people are increasingly found in middle-income countries and in fragile states. Both trends and their intersection present important new questions for how the international community tackles global poverty reduction.
