The Poverty Paradox – And How to Address It
Jan Rudengren
Poverty alleviation is the cornerstone and mission of the development community. Yet perhaps the community’s focus on low-income countries (LICs) has skewed a healthy and accurate evaluation of the effectiveness of its interventions. A careful analysis of the current data indicates that the majority of poverty is found within middle-income countries (MICs) and not in the LICs. Seemingly unaware of this, the policy of the development community is still aiming at promoting LICs to become MICs. Once having become a MIC, it is assumed that poverty reduction will be accommodated largely by the national growth policies, supported by non-grant funds, international financial institutions (IFIs) and the global financial market.
Related Publications
-
Sustainable Cybersecurity? Rethinking Approaches to Protecting Energy Infrastructure in the European High North
In this paper, the authors argue for rethinking the existing cybersecurity governance structures and propose an approach that connects cybersecurity and environmental governance. Rapidly increasing digitization has positively contributed to […]
-
Illusion’s End: Erdoğan and Turkey’s Coming Economic Chill
The rapid depreciation in the value of the Turkish Lira since the beginning of 2018 is the product not only of the collapse of any remaining vestiges of investor confidence […]
-
A Steady Hand: The EU 2019 Strategy & Policy Toward Central Asia
Executive Summary The launch of a new EU Strategy for Central Asia in June 2019 marked a milestone in the gradual development of relations between the EU and the region. […]
-
Uzbekistan’s New Foreign Policy: Change and Continuity under New Leadership
Since Uzbekistan gained independence in 1991, its government has sought to maximize its national security and sovereignty by limiting dependence on foreign actors. This priority has continued under former President […]
-
The Great Rejuvenation? China’s Search for a New ‘Global Order’
Executive Summary This Asia Paper explores how China, a ‘partial’ global power, can set the agenda and determine the rules in a global order dominated by a declining yet unyielding […]