American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Why Don't We See Poverty Convergence?
American Economic Review
(pp. 504–23)
Abstract
Average living standards are converging among developing countries and faster growing economies see more progress against poverty. Yet we do not find poverty convergence; countries starting with higher poverty rates do not see higher proportionate rates of poverty reduction. The paper tries to explain why. Analysis of a new dataset suggests that, at given mean consumption, high initial poverty has an adverse effect on consumption growth and also makes growth less poverty-reducing. Thus, for many poor countries, the growth advantage of starting out with a low mean is lost due to a high incidence of poverty. (JEL D63, I31, I32, O15)Citation
Ravallion, Martin. 2012. "Why Don't We See Poverty Convergence?" American Economic Review 102 (1): 504–23. DOI: 10.1257/aer.102.1.504Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D63 Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
- I31 General Welfare
- I32 Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration