Poverty and Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean

Poverty and Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean PDF Author: Quentin Wodon
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 9780821347546
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 154

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Book Description
Although the progress toward poverty reduction remains sluggish, other dimensions of social welfare in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region show signs of improvement. Adult literacy and school enrollment rates, life expectancy at birth, and the amount of access to safe water are increasing. Nutrition indicators are also improving. However, other factors demonstrate that many problems persist, especially the inequality between rich and poor. This report analyzes the evolution of poverty and inequality in the LAC region from 1986 to 1996 with projections to 1998. It reviews the policies which have been advocated or implemented to reduce poverty. The report combines the results of new empirical work using household surveys from 12 countries, short theoretical developments, and a review of the literature on issues related to poverty, inequality, and social policy in LAC. Some of the theoretical developments introduce new research techniques. Chapters three to six follow the framework proposed in the forthcoming 'World Development Report 2000-2001'. The framework identifies three essential elements for poverty reduction. Those elements include opportunities for the poor and investments in the human capital of the poor, security through social safety nets, and empowerment.

Poverty and Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean

Poverty and Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean PDF Author: Quentin Wodon
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 9780821347546
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 154

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Book Description
Although the progress toward poverty reduction remains sluggish, other dimensions of social welfare in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region show signs of improvement. Adult literacy and school enrollment rates, life expectancy at birth, and the amount of access to safe water are increasing. Nutrition indicators are also improving. However, other factors demonstrate that many problems persist, especially the inequality between rich and poor. This report analyzes the evolution of poverty and inequality in the LAC region from 1986 to 1996 with projections to 1998. It reviews the policies which have been advocated or implemented to reduce poverty. The report combines the results of new empirical work using household surveys from 12 countries, short theoretical developments, and a review of the literature on issues related to poverty, inequality, and social policy in LAC. Some of the theoretical developments introduce new research techniques. Chapters three to six follow the framework proposed in the forthcoming 'World Development Report 2000-2001'. The framework identifies three essential elements for poverty reduction. Those elements include opportunities for the poor and investments in the human capital of the poor, security through social safety nets, and empowerment.

Left Behind

Left Behind PDF Author: Renos Vakis
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464806616
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
One out of every five Latin Americans or around 130 million people have never known anything but poverty, subsisting on less than US$4-a-day throughout their lives. These are the region ́s chronically poor, who have remained so despite unprecedented inroads against poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean since the turn of the century. Left Behind: Chronic Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean takes a closer look at the region’s entrenched poor, who and where they are, and how existing policies need to change in order to effectively assist them. The book shows significant variations of rates of chronic poverty both across and within countries. Within a single country, some regions show incidence rates up to eight times higher than the lowest. Despite the higher rates of chronic poverty in rural areas, chronic poverty is as much an urban as a rural issue. In fact, considering absolute numbers, urban areas in many countries, including Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and the Dominican Republic, have more chronic poor than rural areas. Undoubtedly the region has come a long way during the decade in terms of poverty reduction, guided by a mix of sustained growth and increased levels in amounts and quality of public spending and programs targeted directly or indirectly to the chronic poor. While improving endowments and the context where the chronic poor live is a necessary condition going forward, the decade’s experience suggests that it may not be enough to reach the chronic poor. The book posits that refinements to the existing policy toolkit †“ as opposed to more programs †“ may come a long way in helping the remaining poor. These refinements include intensifying efforts to improve coordination between different social and economic programs, which can boost the income generation process and deal with the intergenerational transmission of chronic poverty by investing in early childhood development. Equally important though, there is an urgent need to adapt programs to directly address the psychological toll of chronic poverty on people’s mindset and aspirations, which currently undermines the effectiveness of the existing policy efforts.

Digital Poverty

Digital Poverty PDF Author: Hernan Galperin
Publisher: IDRC
ISBN: 1552503429
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
Examines the problem of inedequate access to information and communication technology (ICT) and the need to develop appropriate pro-poor ICT policies. Shows how market reforms have failed to ensure that the benefits of the Information Society have spread across the region.

Left Behind

Left Behind PDF Author: Renos Nicos Vakis
Publisher: Latin American Development For
ISBN: 9781464806605
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"One out of every five Latin Americans--about 130 million people--have never known anything but poverty, subsisting on less than US$4 a day throughout their lives. These are the region's chronically poor, who have remained so despite unprecedented inroads against poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean since the turn of the century. This book takes a closer look at the region/s entrenched poor, who and where they are, and how existing policies need to change to effectively assist the poor. The book shows significant variations of rates of chronic poverty across and within countries. The book posits that refinements to the existing policy toolkit --as opposed to more programs--may come a long way in helping the remaining poor. These refinements include intensifying efforts to improve coordination between different social and economic programs, which can boost the income-generation process and deal with the intergenerational transmission of chronic poverty by investing in early childhood development. In addition, there is an urgent need to adapt programs to directly address the psychological toll of chronic poverty on people's mindsets and aspirations, which currently undermines the effectiveness of existing policy efforts." -- Publisher's description

Shared Prosperity and Poverty Eradication in Latin America and the Caribbean

Shared Prosperity and Poverty Eradication in Latin America and the Caribbean PDF Author: Louise Cord
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464803587
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 355

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Book Description
Over the last decade Latin America and the Caribbean region has achieved important progress towards the World Bank Group's goals of eradicating extreme poverty and boosting income growth of the bottom 40 percent, propelled by remarkable economic growth and falling income inequality. Despite this impressive performance, social progress has not been uniform over this period, and certain countries, subregions and even socioeconomic groups participated less in the growth process. As of today, more than 75 million people still live in extreme poverty in the region (using $2.50/day/capita), half of them in Brazil and Mexico, and extreme poverty rates top 40 percent in Guatemala and reach nearly 60 percent in Haiti. This means that extreme poverty is still an important issue in both low- and middle-income countries in the region. As growth wanes and progress in reducing the still high levels of inequality in the region slows, it will be more important than ever for governments to focus policies on inclusive growth. The book includes an overview that highlights progress towards the goals of poverty eradication and shared prosperity between 2003 and 2012, unpacks recent gains at the household level using an income-based asset model, and examines some of the policy levers used to affect social outcomes in the region. It draws on 13 country studies, eight of which are featured in this volume: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. The other case studies include: Bolivia, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Honduras, which will be included in the web version of the book.

Exploring Policy Linkages Between Poverty, Crime and Violence

Exploring Policy Linkages Between Poverty, Crime and Violence PDF Author: Asha Kambon
Publisher: UN
ISBN: 9789211216745
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The impact of crime and violence on the social, economic and political development of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean is well documented. The paper begins with definitions and categorisation of crime, violence and poverty including a brief discussion of some of the key challenges with measurement. An analysis of crime trends for the period 1996 to 2006 and the incidence of poverty in the countries under review for a similar period is presented. The following section explores the literature which discusses the links between poverty, crime and violence and includes a discussion on the risk factors for crime and violence including the impact of inequality and relative deprivation on levels of crime and violence. The publication also presents findings of a very preliminary study based on a self administered questionnaire and it concludes with recommendations for further research.

Social Panorama of Latin America 2020

Social Panorama of Latin America 2020 PDF Author: United Nations Publications
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789211220698
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
This publication examines the social impact of an unprecedented crisis.

Report on the Economic Impact of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) on Latin America and the Caribbean

Report on the Economic Impact of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) on Latin America and the Caribbean PDF Author: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
Publisher: United Nations
ISBN: 921005413X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
This study was prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), at the request of the Government of Mexico in its capacity as Pro Tempore Chair of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), at the virtual ministerial meeting on health matters for response and follow-up to the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, held on 26 March 2020. The report addresses three topics: the economic and social impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in the region, the actions taken by ECLAC in response to the request by CELAC and, on the basis of these, a set of policy recommendations to address the pandemic and its effects in different areas.

Left Behind

Left Behind PDF Author: Renos Vakis
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464806616
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
One out of every five Latin Americans or around 130 million people have never known anything but poverty, subsisting on less than US$4-a-day throughout their lives. These are the region ́s chronically poor, who have remained so despite unprecedented inroads against poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean since the turn of the century. Left Behind: Chronic Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean takes a closer look at the region’s entrenched poor, who and where they are, and how existing policies need to change in order to effectively assist them. The book shows significant variations of rates of chronic poverty both across and within countries. Within a single country, some regions show incidence rates up to eight times higher than the lowest. Despite the higher rates of chronic poverty in rural areas, chronic poverty is as much an urban as a rural issue. In fact, considering absolute numbers, urban areas in many countries, including Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and the Dominican Republic, have more chronic poor than rural areas. Undoubtedly the region has come a long way during the decade in terms of poverty reduction, guided by a mix of sustained growth and increased levels in amounts and quality of public spending and programs targeted directly or indirectly to the chronic poor. While improving endowments and the context where the chronic poor live is a necessary condition going forward, the decade’s experience suggests that it may not be enough to reach the chronic poor. The book posits that refinements to the existing policy toolkit †“ as opposed to more programs †“ may come a long way in helping the remaining poor. These refinements include intensifying efforts to improve coordination between different social and economic programs, which can boost the income generation process and deal with the intergenerational transmission of chronic poverty by investing in early childhood development. Equally important though, there is an urgent need to adapt programs to directly address the psychological toll of chronic poverty on people’s mindset and aspirations, which currently undermines the effectiveness of the existing policy efforts.

Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy

Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy PDF Author: Francis Fukuyama
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421405709
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
The rise of populism in new democracies, especially in Latin America, has brought renewed urgency to the question of how liberal democracy deals with issues of poverty and inequality. Citizens who feel that democracy failed to improve their economic condition are often vulnerable to the appeal of political leaders with authoritarian tendencies. To counteract this trend, liberal democracies must establish policies that will reduce socioeconomic disparities without violating liberal principles, interfering with economic growth, or ignoring the consensus of the people. Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy addresses the complicated philosophical and moral issues surrounding the distribution of economic goods in free societies as well as the empirical relationships between democratization and trends in poverty and inequality. This volume also discusses the variety of welfare-state policies that have been adopted in different regions of the world. The book’s distinguished group of contributors provides a succinct synthesis of the scholarship on this topic. They address such broad issues as whether democracy promotes inequality, the socioeconomic factors that drive democratic failure, and the basic choices that societies must make as they decide how to deal with inequality. Chapters focus on particular regions or countries, examining how problems of poverty and inequality have been handled (or mishandled) by newer democracies in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia. Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy will prove vital reading for all students of world politics, political economy, and democracy’s global prospects. Contributors: Dan Banik, Nancy Bermeo, Dorothee Bohle, Nathan Converse, Alberto Díaz-Cayeros, Francis Fukuyama, Béla Greskovits, Stephan Haggard, Ethan B. Kapstein, Robert R. Kaufman, Taekyoon Kim, Huck-Ju Kwon, Jooha Lee, Peter Lewis, Beatriz Magaloni, Mitchell A. Orenstein, Marc F. Plattner, Charles Simkins, Alejandro Toledo, Ilcheong Yi