Delivering on the promise of pro-poor growth: insights and lessons from country experiences

Achieving poverty reduction through pro-poor growth

By: Besley T & Cord L
Published by: World Bank, 2007
Via: Eldis

How do growth strategies affect the ability of poor households to participate in and benefit from growth? This book explores how country policies and conditions interact to reduce poverty and to spread the benefits of growth across different income groups. It provides insights from eight countries that have been relatively successful in delivering pro-poor growth. These include Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Tunisia, Uganda and Vietnam. Drawing on case studies, five policy interventions for enhancing incomes in the agricultural sector are identified:

• improving market access and lowering transaction costs
• strengthening property rights to land
• creating an incentive framework that benefits all farmers
• expanding the technology available to smallholder producers
• helping poorer and smaller producers cope with risk.

The authors also identify several policy options for promoting non-agricultural and urban employment opportunities, including:

• improving the investment climate
• designing labour market regulations to create attractive employment opportunities
• widening access to secondary and girls' education
• increasing access to infrastructure.

The paper concludes that policy makers who seek to increase the incomes of poor people and thus reduce overall poverty levels would be well advised to implement policies that enable their countries to achieve a faster rate of overall growth.

(http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPGI/Resources/PPG_eBook.pdf)