Poverty and Inequality

The research program has two main objectives: (1) improve current data as well as methods and tools for poverty and inequality analysis and (2) use the improved data and existing data sources to better understand the economic and social processes determining the extent of poverty and inequality and to assess the effectiveness of specific policies in reducing poverty.

Featured

Building State Capability for Policy Implementation
In this talk, Michael Woolcock draws on the recently published book Building State Capability to outline an approach to building state capability to implement incrementally more complex and contentious tasks (e.g., health care, justice, regulation, taxation, land administration) at scale.
New Research Points to the Future of Global Poverty Monitoring
Progress in the fight against extreme poverty is prompting new thinking about poverty measures that can supplement the current extreme poverty line of $1.90/day.
Well-Designed Early Childhood Development Programs Can Pay Big Dividends
In this talk, Emanuela Galasso shared research on "high quality" investments in the early years of life, focusing on nutrition and early childhood development interventions.

WORKING PAPER

Approximating Income Distribution Dynamics Using Aggregate Data

Aart Kraay and Roy Van der Weide

Working Paper 8123, June 2017

Unheard Voices: The Challenge of Inducing Women’s Civic Speech

Ramya Parthasarathy, Vijayendra Rao, and Nethra Palaniswamy
Working Paper 8120, June 2017

Deliberative Inequality: A Text-As-Data Study of Tamil Nadu’s Village Assemblies

Ramya Parthasarathy, Vijayendra Rao, and Nethra Palaniswamy
Working Paper 8119, June 2017

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DATA

Software for Poverty Mapping

BOOKS AND REPORTS

Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2016 : Taking on Inequality
The Poverty and Shared Prosperity series provides a global audience with the latest and most accurate estimates on trends in global poverty and shared prosperity, as well as in-depth research into policies and interventions that can make a difference for the world’s poorest. The 2016 edition takes a close look at the role that inequality reduction plays in ending extreme poverty and improving the livelihoods of the poorest in every country.