The World Bank Group has set a clear mission: ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity on a livable planet. This episode of Expert Answers explores the Poverty, Prosperity and Planet report which offers the first post-pandemic assessment of global progress toward these interlinked goals and how to move forward. Join Luis Felipe Lopez-Calva, Global Director for Poverty and Equity on Expert Answers to find out more.
Timestamps
00:00 Welcome
01:27 Progress made so far
02:49 Moving forward: Pathways for countries
04:49 Approaches and priorities
05:51 Closure
Transcript
[00:00] - Those at the bottom of the income distribution, the poorest and the most vulnerable, have to be also more proactively engaged in that process of economic growth and benefiting from it.
- Hello, today's "Expert Answers" is mission critical. That's because the World Bank Group's updated mission is to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet. In this episode, we'll look at where the world stands today on that journey. But first, let's skip back a few decades. Beginning in 1990, economies across the world started reducing poverty at an extraordinary rate. And rapid economic growth helped liberate more than 1 billion people from the scourge of poverty. Over the next 25 years, as the incomes of the poorest nations began to converge with those of the wealthiest, the world came closer than ever to ending extreme poverty altogether. But today the goal remains out of reach. Progress has slowed, and then a series of major crises and shocks have left low-income economies struggling to recover. So what can be done to course correct? Let's find out. Luis Felipe Lopez-Calva is the Global Director for Poverty and Equity here at the World Bank. And today he is joining us to discuss the 2024 Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report: Pathways Out of Polycrisis. Luis Felipe, welcome to "Expert Answers."
- Thank you very much, Andrea.
[01:27] - So let's start by talking about the big picture. Where do we stand today in terms of our progress to end poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet?
- So, you know, first message I would like to convey is that the world has achieved a lot in the last three decades. More than 1 billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty, which, as you know, is the one that we have monitored since 1990. Now the World Bank also has a higher poverty line than, you know, we call poverty for middle-income countries, higher-middle-income countries, which is at $6.85 per person per day. So if we look at the trend for extreme poverty today, we have about 700 million people under the poverty line in the world, which is, you know, still a very high level, and in middle-income countries, at a very flat rate. So it has been more difficult to reduce the rate of people under that poverty line. If we look forward, actually, what we are committed to, which is eliminating extreme poverty, we can say that we are off track. Because certainly at the pace at which we are reducing poverty today, by 2030, the extreme poverty rate will be around the level of 7 to 8%, which is certainly unacceptable.
[02:49] - And now let me ask you a very simple question. What pathways can countries take going forward?
- This is a very important question, because, I mean, a very general answer, but it's still very valid, is to achieve higher economic growth. But now we know also that that growth has to be very inclusive. What that means is those at the bottom of the income distribution, the poorest and the most vulnerable, have to be also more proactively engaged in that process of economic growth and benefiting from it. When we combine the objectives of ending poverty and a livable planet, we immediately have situations in which there are trade-offs where actually you can grow, but you can be having an impact on the environment. And in other cases, actually, you have complementarities, which means you can actually, for example, think of air pollution. So if you combat air pollution, you actually have an impact that is particularly good for the poor who are the ones that suffer the most. So we have to differentiate between those situations of trade-offs versus those situations of complementarities, and try to promote a higher rate of economic growth, economic growth that is more inclusive, but also trying to protect people who are not poor but are vulnerable to fall back into that condition because of recurring shocks, particularly climate-related shocks, not only. You know, 20% of the world population today are subject to shocks that could, you know, make them fall into poverty, and it would be very difficult to leave that condition after. And in countries, like in the Sub-Saharan region, for example, actually more than 1/3 of the population, you know, is in that situation of vulnerability. So we also need to protect people from those shocks, providing, you know, means for people to cope.
[04:49] - And of course, each country will require a different approach depending on where they are along their journey. So what does the report have to say in terms of what their priorities should be?
- That's very important, because the report really tries to have recommendations that are very context-specific. So in the poorest countries, actually, the emphasis should be in increasing the rate of growth, making that growth more inclusive, and also delivering on non-monetary dimensions of poverty: services, quality health, quality education, for example. If you go into higher levels of income, you also have to protect people not to fall back into conditions of poverty. So that requires aspects like investing in social protection, as I mentioned before, some elements that involve complementarities, like air pollution. As we move to higher income levels, definitely you have to start worrying about mitigation policies and try to have a growth process that is less intensive in carbon emissions.
[05:51] - Well, thank you so much for all these insights, and I hope to see you very soon.
- Thank you very much, Andrea.
- And that's all for me today. But if you want to learn more about the 2024 Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report: Pathways Out of Polycrisis, go to worldbank.org/3pr or check out the Publications section of the World Bank Group website. Bye for now.
