Pathways to Reducing Poverty and Sharing Prosperity in India

Abstract

This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.

Challenges in Measuring Poverty and Understanding its Dynamics: A South Asian Perspective

“…However, a word‐counting exercise involving two recent World Bank documents reveals wide differences in perspectives (Figure ). One of those documents is an attempt to identify pathways to reducing poverty in India building on lessons from the last two decades (Chatterjee et al , ). The other offers a game plan to end extreme poverty in the world by 2030 (Gill et al , ).…”

India Development Update, July 2020

“…The COVID-19 crisis will result in lower rates of economic growth, hence in fewer employment and earnings opportunities. Given that most household income in India is from work, rather than transfers, these short-and medium-term impacts will necessarily lead to a deterioration in living standards (Chatterjee et al 2016). Therefore, the main focus of the discussion below is on the economic impacts, and the immediate policy response of the government to mitigate the impacts on the poor.…”

Rural Livelihood Challenges: Moving out of Agriculture

“…It is now fairly well-established that urbanization has been a significant contributor to rural poverty reduction since 1991 by providing rural households with a greater number of livelihood opportunities during the period when agriculture has largely remained largely stagnant (Chatterjee, Murgai, Narayan, & Rama, 2016). However, understanding the variegated nature of urbanization is crucial to understand its impact on rural poverty.…”

“…These towns provide easier connectivity to the rural hinterland, encouraging labor mobility as well as better access to markets and amenities, including access to human capital. In India, despite all the focus on metropolitan cities as engines of growth, it is actually the smaller towns which have had the biggest impact on poverty reduction during the last two decades (Chatterjee et al, 2016;Gibson, Datt, Murgai, & Ravallion, 2017). Along the spatial gradient-where the strict rural and urban definitions become blurryagglomeration effects around smaller cities have been the highest as they have led to many high-performing rural places (Li & Rama, 2015).…”