Development and Poverty Reduction: A Global Comparative Perspective

✍ Scribed by Yongnian Zheng, Jiwei Qian

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 309
• Series: China Policy Series, 60
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Although the absolute number of poor people in the world has declined significantly in recent decades, poverty reduction continues to be a very important issue. There still are very large numbers of poor people, relative poverty is an increasingly concerning problem, and progress on poverty reduction varies enormously from one part of the world to another. Factors contributing to poverty reduction include economic growth, economic integration, and specific poverty-reduction programs, which are often initiated by Western countries. This book considers poverty reduction from a global perspective. Development and Poverty Reduction looks at a wide range of specific subjects, across all continents. It highlights in particular how the issues are perceived from a non-Western perspective and especially how the rise of China is both having a profound impact on poverty reduction globally and also changing the overall way in which development and poverty reduction are approached.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of figures
List of tables
Notes on contributors
Acknowledgments
List of abbreviations
Part I: Background discussions
1 Introduction: poverty reduction in comparative perspective
China as an example of effective poverty reduction
Poverty, inequality, and economic growth
Poverty issues in the globalized world
The contributions of this volume
The organization of the book
Discussion and conclusion
Notes
References
2 The state and development: the two political economy models of China and the West
Introduction
Western political economy: the separation between politics and the economy
The Chinese political economy: development as the state’s responsibility
The future of the two models of political economy
Notes
References
Part II: America
3 Poverty in the US and its causes
Measuring and mismeasuring poverty
Economic challenges
Demographic challenges
Social challenges
Government programs
“Labor activation”
Notes
Part III: Africa
4 Development and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa
Introduction
Aggregate economic growth, monetary poverty, and inequality
Non-monetary welfare indicators and human development
Structural transformation, jobs, and the informal sector
Foreign aid, macroeconomic policy, governance, and conflict
Critical issues for the future
Conclusion
Notes
References
5 An overview of recent trends in official development assistance: contradictory new directions in the relationship between DAC donors and China
Introduction
The case for aid in the face of the current critical onslaught
The DAC aid model
Criticisms of the DAC aid model
Complex political realities as a reason for aid failure
The neoliberal critique and its current influence
Media and right-wing populist attacks on aid
Aid in support of donors’ national interests
Chinese foreign assistance
Conclusion
Notes
References
6 Africa’s quest for poverty alleviation: lessons from and reflections on the role of China
Introduction
Africa’s growth amidst poverty
The gravity of poverty in Africa and its causes
Initiatives to tackle poverty
Challenges of poverty alleviation
Reflections on lessons from and the role of China
Conclusion
References
7 Strengthening Sino-African poverty alleviation collaboration through knowledge sharing
Introduction
Fighting rural poverty through targeted measures
International collaboration and poverty alleviation
Knowledge sharing as the core of collaboration in poverty alleviation
Conclusion and policy recommendations
Notes
References
Part IV: Southeast Asia
8 Poverty reduction experiences of Southeast Asian countries
Introduction
Measuring poverty
Data on poverty incidence
The growth–poverty nexus
Estimation results
Conclusion
Appendix: data sources
References
9 Economic development and poverty reduction in Southeast Asia
Introduction
Reducing income poverty
Shifting paradigms
The inhospitable city
Redefining poverty
Lagging human development
Insecure employment
Indispensable, yet vulnerable
Weakening safety nets
New challenges ahead
Knowledge-based and on-demand economies
Education and society
Conclusion
Notes
References
Part V: East Asia
10 The rise of China and its implications for economics and other developing countries
Introduction
How was it possible for China to grow so rapidly for so long?
Why did China not benefit from the advantage of backwardness before 1979?
Why were there such dramatic differences in economic performance during the transition period?
What price did China pay for its success?
Can China continue this kind of dynamic growth in the years ahead?
Conclusion: what are the implications of China’s experience for other developing countries and for economics?
Acknowledgments
Notes
References
11 Poverty reduction in East Asia: a continuing development challenge
Changing perception of economic development
The Millennium Development Goals
Absolute vs relative poverty
Poverty elimination critical to Xi Jinping’s “China Dream”
The economic version of the China Dream
The challenges for China’s next lap
East Asian experiences in poverty alleviation
Singapore’s unique approach to poverty alleviation
Notes
References
12 The impact of economic development on the social structure of the Japanese rural community
Introduction
The nature of Japanese agriculture
The manorial system before the Meiji restoration
Self-farming landlords in the light industrialization period
Social unrest in the pre-war heavy industrialization period
Income redistribution policy in the post-war heavy industrialization period
Implications of Japan’s urbanization experience for the international society
Notes
References
13 The urban informal sector and development in China: institutions and feedback effects
Introduction
The informal sector and development
Different definitions of the informal sector
Why is the size of the informal sector increasing?
The institutional constraints on the “formalization” of the informal sector workers
The informal sector and the labor market: institutional constraints
The informal sector and social protection: institutional constraints
Regulation compliance costs and feedback effects
Discussion
Conclusion
Notes
References
Index