Key references: Poverty

Banerjee, A. V., & Duflo, E. (2011). Poor economics: A radical rethinking of the way to fight global poverty. New York: Public Affairs.
Are there ways for the poor to improve their lives, and what is preventing them from being able to do these things? Using 15 years of data from research by MIT’s Poverty Action Lab, this book looks at the lives and choices of the poor to better understand how to fight global poverty. It argues that so much anti-poverty policy has failed because of an inadequate understanding of poverty. It is possible to make progress on tackling poverty through accumulated small steps, each well thought out and carefully tested. It is important to make it easier for the poor to do the things that can help them escape poverty, for example making it easier for them to open a savings account. Providing the poor with critical pieces of information and raising expectations can help them make decisions that contribute to escaping poverty.

Chant, S. (Ed.). (2010). The international handbook of gender and poverty: Concepts, research, policy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar
Attention was focused on gender and poverty when in 1995 it was suggested that women make up to 70 per cent of the world’s poor. The allocation of economic resources among family members usually favours men, and women tend to spend a lot of time doing unpaid care work. Women’s paid and unpaid labour is undervalued and gendered inequalities in assets, power, agency and discrimination exist. Lack of data on intra-household inequalities and problems with how poverty is measured means the real levels of women’s poverty are underestimated. This book looks at the causes and consequences of gendered poverty, and how they and their interactions can be conceptualised, investigated and measured. It identifies how policy interventions can address the complexities of gendered poverty in a positive and effective way.

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 on 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 proposed 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.

Handley, G., Higgins, K., & Sharma, B. (2009). Poverty and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa: An overview of key issues (Working Paper 299). London: ODI.
What is it that makes sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) the poorest region in the world? What can be done to deliver the sustainable and broad-based economic growth required to address this? This report highlights the principal drivers and maintainers of poverty in SSA and discusses selected policies for economic development and poverty reduction. One of the main failings of development policies advocated by aid agencies has been an overly prescriptive, one-size-fits-all mentality that does not take into account country-specific constraints.

Haughton, J., & Khandker, S. R. (2009). Handbook on poverty and inequality. Washington, DC: World Bank.
The Handbook provides tools to measure, describe, monitor, evaluate, and analyse poverty and inequality. It evaluates the strengths and weaknesses and different arguments around these different tools. It provides background materials for designing poverty reduction strategies.

Hulme, D. (2010). Global Poverty: How global governance is failing the poor. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Why has eradiating 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 global governance. The world is organised in such a way that huge numbers of people have little or no access to basic human needs.

Satterthwaite, D., & Mitlin, D. (2014). Reducing urban poverty in the global south. Abingdon: 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.

Further reading