India is home to the largest number of poor people in the world, as well as the largest number of people who have recently escaped poverty. Over the next few weeks, this blog series will highlight recent research from the World Bank and its partners on what has driven poverty reduction, what still stands in the way of progress, and the road to a more prosperous India.
We hope this will spark a conversation around #WhatWillItTake to #EndPoverty in India and look forward to your comments.
Blog #1: Five key drivers of reducing poverty in India
India is uniquely placed to drive global poverty reduction. The country is home to the largest number of poor people in the world, as well as the largest number of people who have recently escaped poverty. Despite an emerging middle class, many of India’s people are still vulnerable to falling back into poverty.
India is home to 26 percent of the global extreme poor. This means that the world’s ability to end extreme poverty by 2030–an objective originally adopted by the World Bank and now a key element of the Sustainable Development Goals–hinges on India’s ability to make strong and sustained inroads in reducing poverty. The good news is that India has made notable strides in tackling extreme poverty and promoting growth among its poorest – what we call shared prosperity. Read More
Blog #2: On poverty and prosperity, lot done, lot to do
The rapid decline in India’s poverty levels in the recent decade augurs well for the country’s efforts to eradicate poverty. Though the decline was faster and more broad-based than in the preceding decades, examples from across the developing world suggest it could have been more inclusive and responsive to economic growth. Read More
Blog #3: Poverty down, but 1 in 2 hangs by a thread
The sharp decline in poverty in India has been accompanied by a strong pattern of upward mobility, leading to an emerging middle class. Education, urban residence, and wage work have contributed to this higher-than-average upward mobility and lower downward mobility. Yet, a vast share of the population remains vulnerable to slipping back into poverty, suggesting that gains against poverty need to be deepened and made more secure. Scheduled Tribes stand out as a group that has fallen further behind, with one-third stuck in chronic poverty. Read More
Blog #4: 1 in 3 has piped water, 2 of 5 kids stunted
The rapid decline in consumption poverty over the past two decades was accompanied by improvements in other dimensions of welfare. But progress has been mixed and much still remains to be done. India’s performance on key indicators of well-being lags behind countries at similar stages of development. And country-level estimates mask wide disparities between states. Read More
Blog #5: The low income, low growth trap
While India’s economy has grown more rapidly in recent decades, the gains have been unevenly spread, and some regions have fallen further behind the rest of the country. In particular, India’s seven ‘low-income’ states have struggled to shake off the legacy of high consumption poverty, low per capita incomes, poor human development outcomes and the persistence of poverty among tribal populations. The fact that these states are yet to catch-up with the rest of the country illustrates that ‘where you live’ largely determines ‘how well you live'. Addressing this geographic dimension of poverty and well-being will therefore hold the key to improving the lives of millions of Indians. Read More
Blog #6: India, the driver of growth for Bharat
How has India’s recent growth impacted poverty in the country? We look at how India’s rapid structural transformation over the past three decades —the shift from agriculture to industry and services, and from rural to urban areas – is changing the relationship between economic growth and poverty reduction. Read More
Blog #7: Jobs, not transfers, the big poverty buster
The significant shift from farm work to non-farm sources of income accelerated the decline in poverty in India. Non-farm jobs pay more than agricultural labor, and incomes from both were propelled by a steep rise in wages for rural unskilled labor. While lower dependency rates and transfers - from remittances and social programs - have contributed to a reduction in poverty, they are not the primary drivers of the poverty decline between 2005 and 2012. Read More
Blog #8: In building and agri boom, rural wage lift
Real wages have risen across India in the past two decades, but the increase was especially marked among rural unskilled workers. Three drivers – falling rural female labor force participation, a construction boom, and favorable agricultural terms of trade -- help explain why unskilled rural workers fared better than their urban counterparts or workers with more education. Going forward, in light of lower agricultural prices and slower growth in the construction sector, some of the factors that contributed to the increase in relative wages for unskilled labor during this period may not be sustained over time. Read More
Blog #9: Where you live decides how 'well' you live
Location and poverty are intimately linked. In India’s rapidly transforming economy, where the boundaries between rural and urban have become increasingly blurred, living standards are much higher in ‘good’ locations, and much worse in places that are not so ‘good’. In the years to come, creating more such ‘good’ locations, and spreading their prosperity to surroundings areas, will play a key role in raising incomes and reducing poverty in India. Read More
Blog #10: Three job deficits in unfolding India story
Rising labor earnings have driven India’s recent decline in poverty. But the quantity and quality of jobs created raise concerns about the sustainability of poverty reduction, and the prospects for enlarging the middle class. The period after 2005 can be best described as one of a growing jobs deficit. Three deficits actually: i) a deficit in the overall number of jobs, ii) a deficit in the number of good jobs, and iii) a deficit in the number of suitable jobs for women. Read More
Blog #11: Since 2005, fewer jobs for women in India
Female labor force participation in India is among the lowest in the world. What’s worse, the share of working women in India is declining. This is a cause for concern since higher labor earnings are the primary driver of poverty reduction. It is often argued that declining female participation is due to rising incomes that allow more women to stay at home. The evidence, however, shows that after farming jobs collapsed post 2005, alternative jobs considered suitable for women failed to replace them. Read More
Blog #12: Key lessons on road to sharing prosperity
A thorough review of India’s experience in reducing poverty over the last two decades confirmed some of our previous understanding, but it also revealed new, unexpected insights. On the confirmation side, we found that poverty in India, as in other parts of the world, is associated with a lack of assets at the household level, and especially with limited human capital. Read More
