Sara Hsu

 Poverty measurement has changed from one of relative income gaps to multidimensional indices of poverty.  Poor are socially constructed phenomenon.  Transient poor are those who can be classified as poor in some periods and not in others.  Ravallion (1988) finds an expected value of a poverty measure which results from changes in a welfare indicator.  Inequality persists due to credit market imperfections.  Quality of institutions impact distribution and vice versa.

 Home to 20% of world’s poorest  Found in rural areas, lower castes  Child malnutrition  Farmer suicides  Agricultural policies  Land redistribution  Poverty reduction hard to determine from data

 Growth has been concentrated in skilled sectors  Rural casual labor  Gini coefficient

 Problem with reported statistics  Rural phenomenon  Urban phenomenon (rural migrants)  Thin land markets

 Communism and equality  Issue in nineties with privatization  Inland-coastal disparity  Government policies

 No official poverty line  Fifth highest poverty rate in OECD  Unemployment as strong cause  Homeless cannot receive public assistance with no home!

 Increasing inequality, early 20 th century  Lagging productivity in rural sector  Relatively equal from WWII through 1970s  Increase in inequality in 1980s  Aging society

 India:  Integrated Rural Development Program  Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)  National Rural Employment Program  Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programs  National Social Assistance Program  China  Households responsibility System  Targeting poor counties  “Food for Work”  “Grain for Green”  Minimum Living Standard  Japan  Public Assistance

 Poverty in India is highest, second highest in China, and low but significant in Japan  Poverty alleviation policies have sought to reduce poverty in all three countries, with varying levels of success.

 India’s poorest state is Bihar in the North. Most of the population lives in rural areas and focuses on agriculture. Industry is very small.  The state is attempting to get over its image as a “failed state” in the eyes of many.

 Questions?