Key references: Poverty

Alkire, S., Roche, J. M., Sumner, A. (2013). Where do the world’s multidimensionally poor people live? (Working Paper No. 61). Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative.
Where do the world’s multi-dimensionally (MPI) poor people live? This paper considers the difference between the global distribution of multidimensional poverty and income poverty. Only a quarter of MPI poor people and just one-third of severely MPI poor people live in the world’s poorest countries. The other three-quarters of the world’s MPI poor and two-thirds of the world’s severe MPI poor live in middle income countries, one billion of them in stable middle-income countries.

Chronic Poverty Research Centre. (2009). The chronic poverty report 2008-09: Escaping poverty traps. Manchester: Chronic Poverty Research Centre.
How can the chronically poor escape poverty? Chronic poverty is a varied and complex phenomenon, but at its root is powerlessness. Poor people expend enormous energy in trying to escape poverty but with few assets, little education, and chronic ill health, their struggle is often unsuccessful. This report draws upon years of research by the Chronic Poverty Research Centre and suggests policies to attack the multiple and overlapping causes of chronic poverty.

Greenhill, R., Carter, P., Hoy, C., & Manuel, M. (2015). Financing the future: How international public finance should fund a global social compact to eradicate poverty. London: ODI.
Should international public finance fund a global social compact to eradicate poverty? The Sustainable Development Goals are achievable if we do not adopt a business-as-usual approach. Projections based on current patterns of development suggest that in 2030: i) low-income fragile states will have been left even further behind; ii) some 550 million people will still be living on less than USD 1.25 a day, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa; iii) around four million children will die needlessly before the age of five; and iv) universal health and education will still be distant prospects in many countries, with some in sub-Saharan Africa still 20 years away from achieving universal primary education. These outcomes are avoidable if public finance is invested in eradicating poverty in an adaptive and politically smart way, focusing on social protection, universal health coverage, and universal primary and secondary education. Eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 will require mechanisms to reduce inequality and share the fruits of economic growth.

Hulme, D. (2010). Global poverty: How global governance is failing the poor. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Why has eradicating poverty not been a more urgent global issue? This book outlines how the concept of global poverty eradication has evolved and evaluates institutions and their ability to reduce global poverty. The problem lies not with lack of global resources and technology but with issues of global governance. The world is organised in such a way that huge numbers of people have little or no access to basic human needs.

Poverty Analysis Discussion Group. (2012). Understanding poverty and wellbeing – A note with implications for research and policy. (2012). London: DFID.
What are the key innovations in the meaning and measurement of poverty? What is the future direction for research on poverty? This paper finds that over the last ten years human development concepts and measures have been institutionalised; analysis has increasingly moved beyond correlations to examine causality; dynamic analyses of changes in individual and household conditions are much more common; new multi-dimensional poverty measures have emerged; and approaches to combining quantitative and qualitative methods have advanced. In addition, ethical guidance, data availability and access to analytical software have improved. Future areas for research include the politics of poverty; poverty measurement – including longitudinal quantitative and qualitative research; exclusion and poverty; and pro-poor urbanisation policies.

Ravallion, M., & Chen, S. (2013). A proposal for truly global poverty measures. Global Policy, 4(3), 258-265.
How can the deficiencies of standard absolute poverty measures and standard relative poverty measures be overcome? This article presents a new class of truly global measures that aim to improve the understating of poverty. This allows for the costs of avoiding social exclusion and relative deprivation in both poor and rich countries.

Satterthwaite, D., & Mitlin, D. (2014). Reducing urban poverty in the global south. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Increasing numbers of poor people live in urban areas. Despite their proximity to possible advantage, they are highly disadvantaged, with poor or non-existent public services, high levels of violence and desperate living conditions. This book reviews the effectiveness of different approaches (including market approaches, welfare, rights based approaches, and technical/professional support) to reducing urban poverty in the Global South. National and local governments and international organisations can become far more effective at addressing urban poverty at scale by working with and supporting the urban poor and their organisations.

Shepherd, A. (2011). Tackling chronic poverty: The policy implications of research on chronic poverty and poverty dynamics. Manchester: Chronic Poverty Research Centre.
This paper gathers the lessons from ten years of research by the Chronic Poverty Research Centre. It outlines the changes in policy emphasis required in five key areas to achieve greater progress in the eradication of poverty and deprivation. If the chronically poor are to escape poverty beyond 2015, they require additional policies and political commitment, underpinned by greater understanding and analysis.

Shepherd, A., Mitchell, T., Lewis, K., Lenhardt, A., Jones, L., Scott, L., & Muir-Wood, R. (2013). The geography of poverty, disasters and climate extremes in 2030. London: ODI.
How serious a threat do disasters and climate change pose to our prospects of eliminating extreme poverty in the next two decades? This paper examines the relationship between disasters and poverty, maps out the likely geography of poverty, and identifies potential patterns of vulnerability to extreme weather and earthquakes. Without concerted action, in 2030 there could be up to 325 million extremely poor people in the 49 countries most exposed to the full range of natural hazards and climate extremes.

Von Braun, J., Vargas Hill, R., & Pandya-Lorch, R. (Eds.). (2009). The poorest and hungry: Assessments, analyses and action: An IFPRI 2020 book. Washington: International Food Policy Research Institute.
Who are the most deprived in society? Why is poverty so persistent in some places and among some people? Which strategies, policies, and interventions have been successful in eradicating ultra poverty and hunger so far? Poverty reduction has most often benefited people living close to the poverty line rather than those at the very bottom of the income distribution. Addressing the political and social causes of exclusion is central to tackling ultra poverty. This collection of papers addresses questions about the causes of and solutions to ultra poverty.

Further reading