ECONIS Select – Growth through Poverty Reduction and Financial Inclusion

07/2010

Selected for the Global Economic Symposium 2010

In most developing countries, governments undertake large poverty alleviation programs whereby specific goods and services are transferred to those who are unable to afford them in the free market. These programs are targeted (at the poor) and conditional (for particular goods and services). But targeting generates incentive problems (the poor have reduced incentive to become productive) and leakage (some people receive benefits even though they don’t need them and others who need them don’t receive them). Conditionality gives rise to monitoring and enforcement problems, leading to opportunities for corruption. Furthermore, governments face the problem of making the goods and services available at the right time in the rightplace. These various problems reduce countries’ growth potential and hinder poverty alleviation.

• Should traditional government in-kind subsidies to the poor be replaced by cash transfers to the poor? Should the cash transfers be conditional (for specific goods and services) or unconditional?
• Should unconditional cash transfers be combined with a negative income tax, leaving the government to focus on regulatory activities?
• What is the role of new technologies, such as biometric smart cards and electronic bank accounts in implementing such an approach?
• If such changes are desirable, what are the concrete institutional and policy changes required?
• Can market-friendly mechanisms be designed that enable households and businesses, in the pursuit of their own interests, to reduce poverty by stimulating growth?
• Can poverty be effectively reduced through profitable business activity that promotes financial inclusion?
• Can new financial instruments facilitate such a process?
• What, for example, is the future of micro finance and how can its effectiveness be improved?
• What legal and regulatory framework and what international support is required for such opportunities to be exploited?

Literature selected from our database ECONIS:

• Title: Can micro health insurance reduce poverty?: evidence from Bangladesh / Syed Abdul Hamid, Jennifer Roberts and Paul Mosley
  Published: Sheffield: Univ. of Sheffield, Dep. of Economics, 2010
  Subject heading: Microfinance / Private health insurance / Poverty / Poverty alleviation / Rural area / Bangladesh / Grameen Bank
  Link: http://www.shef.ac.uk/content/1/c6/10/45/13/SERPS2010001.pdf
• Title: Speeding financial inclusion / Sameer Kochhar
  Published: New Delhi: Academic Foundation, in association with Skoch Development Foundation, 2009
  Subject heading: Financial services / Microfinance / Poverty alleviation / India
  Link: Table of contents
• Title: The role of microfinance in asset-building and poverty reduction: the case of Sinapi Aba Trust of Ghana / Joseph Kimos Adjei; Thankom Arun; Farhad Hossain
  Published: Manchester: Brooks World Poverty Institute, 2009
  Subject heading: Microfinance / Poverty alleviation / Development finance / Sustainability / Ghana
  Link: http://www.bwpi.manchester.ac.uk/resources/Working-Papers/bwpi-wp-8709.pdf
• Title: New growth and poverty alleviation strategies for Africa
  Published: Münster [u.a.]: LIT, 2009
  Subject heading: Development cooperation / Growth policy / Poverty alleviation / Millennium development goals / Africa
  Link: Table of contents
• Article: Inequality in emerging countries: trends, interpretations, and implications for development and poverty reduction / Stephan Klasen
  In: Intereconomics. - Berlin; Heidelberg [u.a.]: Springer, ISSN 0020-5346, ZDB-ID 29099. - Bd. 44.2009, 6, S. 360-363
  Subject heading: Economic Growth / Social inequality / Poverty alleviation / BRIC countries
• Title: Strategies for growth and poverty reduction: has Tanzania's second PRSP influenced implementation? / Dennis Rweyemamu
  Published: Copenhagen: CDR, 2009
  Subject heading: Development strategy / Growth policy / Poverty alleviation / Tanzania
  Link:
  http://www.diis.dk/graphics/Publications/WP2009/WP2009-13_Strategies_for_growth_and_poverty_reduction_Tanzania_PRSP.pdf
• Title: More pathways out of poverty / ed. by Sam Daley-Harris and Anna Awimbo
  Published: Bloomfield, Conn.: Kumarian Press, 2006
  Subject heading: Poverty alleviation / Microfinance / Commercialization / Financial sector / Developing countries
  Link: Table of contents
• Article: Pro-growth, pro-poor: is there a trade-off? / J. Humberto Lopez
  In: Handbook of research on cost-benefit analysis. - Cheltenham [u.a.]: Elgar, ISBN 1-8472-0069-9. - 2009, S. 482-512
  Subject heading: Economic policy / Macroeconomics / Economic policy / Poverty alleviation / Cost-benefit analysis / Theory
• Title: Cooperatives and micro finance / ed. by V. Frank Ratnakumar ...
  Published: New Delhi: Serials Publications, 2009
  Subject heading: Microfinance / Agricultural cooperative / Poverty alleviation / Agricultural development / India
  Link: Table of contents
• Title: Micro credit and economic development / ed. by R. Rajkumar ...
  Published: New Delhi: Regal Publ., 2010
  Subject heading: Microfinance / Rural development / Poverty alleviation / Agricultural cooperative / Agricultural development / Agricultural credit / Rural financial market / India
  Link: Table of contents
• Title: Financial inclusion of rural markets: understanding the current Indian framework / by Pranaya K. Swain; Baldeep Singh
  Published: Calcutta: IIMC, 2008
  Subject heading: Rural Economy / Rural area / Bank lending / Poverty alleviation / India
  Link: http://www.iimcal.ac.in/res/upd/WPS%20630.pdf
• Article: Microfinance revolution: its effects, innovations, and challenges / Hisaki Kono and Kazushi Takahashi
  In: The developing economies. - Carlton, Vic.: Wiley-Blackwell, ISSN 0012-1533, ZDB-ID 4270290. - Bd. 48.2010, 1, S. 15-73
  Subject heading: Microfinance / Poverty alleviation / Impact analysis / Moral hazard / Adverse selection / Theory
• Title: Poverty capital: microfinance and the making of development / Ananya Roy
  Published: New York, NY [u.a.]: Routledge, 2010
  Subject heading: Microfinance / Poverty alleviation / Democratization / Economic development / Developing countries
• Article: Challenges facing Eritrea in growth and poverty reduction policies: does microfinance help? / Temesgen Kifle
  In: New growth and poverty alleviation strategies for Africa. - Münster [u.a.]: LIT, ISBN 978-3-8258-1966-8. - 2009, S. 299-319
  Subject heading: Poverty alleviation / Development Policy / Microfinance / Economic Growth / Eritrea / 2006
• Title: Micro-credit and rural development / ed. by Anil Kumar Thakur ...
  Published: New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publ., 2009
  Subject heading: Microfinance / Development finance / Poverty alleviation / Social conditions / Women / Agricultural development / India
  Link: Table of contents
• Article: Improving measurement of Latin American inequality and poverty with an eye to equitable growth policy / Albert Berry
  In: Debates on the measurement of global poverty. - Oxford [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press, ISBN 978-0-19-955804-9. - 2010, S. 263-299
  Subject heading: Poverty / Poverty alleviation / Social inequality / Growth policy / Measurement / Latin America
• Article: Measuring poverty in a growing world (or measuring growth in a poor world) / Angus Deaton
  In: Debates on the measurement of global poverty. - Oxford [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press, ISBN 978-0-19-955804-9. - 2010, S. 187-224
  Subject heading: Poverty / Poverty alleviation / Social inequality / Economic Growth / Measurement / World
• Article: Recent employment situation and labor market developments in Bangladesh / Md. Habibur Rahman, Sayera Younus and Md. Sakhawat Hossain
  In: The global journal of finance and economics. - New Delhi: Serials Publ., ISSN 0972-9496, ZDB-ID 24673766. - Bd. 6.2009, 2, S. 173-184
  Subject heading: Labour force participation / Poverty alleviation / Economic Growth / Bangladesh
• Title: The Mozambican PRSP initiative: moorings, usage and future / Lars Buur
  Published: Copenhagen: CDR, 2009
  Subject heading: Growth policy / Poverty alleviation / Development strategy / Mozambique
  Link: http://www.diis.dk/graphics/Publications/WP2009/WP2009-35_Mozambican_PRSP_web.pdf
• Title: Renewed growth and poverty reduction in Zambia / Arne Bigsten; Sven Tengstam
  Published: Göteborg: Dep. of Economics, Göteborg Univ., 2009
  Subject heading: Poverty alleviation / Growth policy / Social Policy / Zambia
  Links:
  http://hdl.handle.net/2077/21652
  http://gupea.ub.gu.se/dspace/bitstream/2077/21652/1/gupea_2077_21652_1.pdf
• Article: Growth, poverty and inequality in Ethiopia: which way for pro-poor growth? / Alemayehu Geda, Abebe Shimeles and John Weeks
  In: Journal of international development. - Chichester: Wiley, ISSN 0954-1748, ZDB-ID 27253x. - Bd. 21.2009, 7, S. 947-970
  Subject heading: Poverty alleviation / Economic Growth / Income distribution / Ethiopia
• Title: The new poverty agenda in Ghana: what impact? / Lindsay Whitfield
  Published: Copenhagen: CDR, 2009
  Subject heading: Poverty alleviation / Growth policy / Ghana
  Link:
  http://www.diis.dk/graphics/Publications/ WP2009/WP2009-15_The_new_New_Poverty_Agenda_in_Ghana_ what_impact.pdf
• Title: The new poverty agenda in Uganda / Anne Mette Kjær and Fred Muhumuza
  Published: Copenhagen: CDR, 2009
  Subject heading: Poverty alleviation / Growth policy / Uganda
• Article: Perception, causes of poverty, poverty alleviation programmes, and sustainable growth in the Niger-Delta, Nigeria / Reuben A. Alabi, Sifawu O. Abu, and Moses I. Ailemen
  In: New growth and poverty alleviation strategies for Africa. - Münster [u.a.]: LIT, ISBN 978-3-8258-1966-8. - 2009, S. 411-445
  Subject heading: Poverty alleviation / Development Policy / Sustainability / Economic Growth / Income distribution / Poverty / Perception / Nigeria / 1982-2005
• Title: The macroeconomics of development and poverty reduction
  Published: Baden-Baden: Nomos-Verl., 2005
  Subject heading: Growth policy / |stw| IMF structural adjustment programme / |stw| Poverty alleviation / |stw| Financial sector / |stw| Economic development / |stw| Developing countries / |stw| China / |stw| Belarus / |stw| Uganda / |stw| Viet Nam / |stw| Macroeconomic effect
  Link: Table of contents
• Article: Microfinance in developing countries: accomplishments, debates, and future directions / Richard L. Meyer and Geetha Nagarajan
  In: Agricultural finance review. - Ithaca, NY: Emerald, ISSN 0002-1466, ZDB-ID 4311723. - Bd. 66.2006, 2, S. 167-193
  Subject heading: Microfinance / Financial market / Poverty alleviation / Developing countries
• Article: New growth and poverty alleviation strategies for Africa: international research trends / Tino Urban
  In: New growth and poverty alleviation strategies for Africa. - Münster: Lit, ISBN 978-3-8258-1542-4. - 2008, S. 585-606
  Subject heading: Growth policy / Poverty alleviation / Agricultural development / Development cooperation / Rural development / Millennium development goals / Africa
• Title: Conceptualisations of poverty / Lars Engberg-Pedersen; Helle Munk Ravnborg
  Published: København: Dansk Institut for Internationale Studier, 2010
  Subject heading: Poverty / Social inequality / Social change / Economic development / Poverty alleviation / World
  Link:
  http://www.diis.dk/graphics/Publications/Reports2010/RP2010-01_conceptualisations_poverty_web.pdf
• Title: Social policy and poverty in East Asia: the role of social security / ed. by James Midgley and Kwong-leung Tang
  Published: London [u.a.]: Routledge, 2010
  Subject heading: Social Policy / Social security / Poverty / Poverty alleviation / East Asia / 1995-2007
  Link: Table of contents