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Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
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Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
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Global Prosperity Wonkcast
Posts Tagged: PovertyThe New Bottom Billion: Andy SumnerFebruary 28, 2011Posted by Lawrence MacDonald in Inequality, Poverty Tags: Andy Sumner, Inequality, Poverty
Andy Sumner, a visiting fellow at CGD and research fellow at the Institute for Development Studies at Sussex University, is boldly challenging that view with more recent data and a new frame of reference that tell a surprisingly different story: three out of four of the world’s poorest people, Andy asserts, live in middle-income countries with impressive growth rates but may nonetheless are trapped in extreme poverty. Andy joins me on this week’s Wonkcast to discuss his work on this “new” bottom billion. Podcast: Play in new window | Download 2 Comments »How to Help the World’s Least Developed Countries: UNCTAD’s Deb BhattacharyaJuly 20, 2010Posted by Lawrence MacDonald in Global Development, Globalization, Inequality, Poverty, Trade Tags: Deb Bhattacharya, LDCs, Poverty
Deb begins by explaining how the official Least Developed Country list is defined. There are three criteria for inclusion, he explains. Obviously, poverty, as measured in per capita income, is one of them. A second is what Deb calls “human assets,” expressed in education and health indicators. And the third is a measure of economic vulnerability to natural or manmade disasters.”Haiti is a classic example of how vulnerable these economies are,” Deb explains. “You get hit not only by man-made disasters, but also by natural exogenous shocks.” Podcast: Play in new window | Download 3 Comments »Getting Aid Right in Northern Uganda—Interview with Julius Kiiza of Makerere University, KampalaMarch 1, 2010Posted by Lawrence MacDonald in Africa, Aid Effectiveness, Fragile States, Poverty Tags: Africa, Julius Kiiza, Poverty, Uganda
Julius tells me that northern Uganda has presented a difficult paradox for aid donors. For years, the country as a whole has been touted as a success story, and a potential model for other developing countries. It boasts one of the fastest rates of economic growth in all of Africa and has cut poverty nearly in half since 1992. However, Julius explains, the north of the country has made very little progress during that time. While the national poverty rate is around 30%, the poverty rate in the north is still around 60%. Podcast: Play in new window | Download 1 Comment »Birdsall on Clinton, Elevating Development, Taking Stock in 2010January 11, 2010Posted by Lawrence MacDonald in Aid Effectiveness, Global Development, Rethinking US Foreign Assistance Tags: Foreign Aid, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Birdsall, Poverty, Secretary of State, USAID
In the second half of the interview, Nancy reviews the past year in development and offers a policy wish for 2010. Podcast: Play in new window | Download 3 Comments »
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Paul Collier’s 2007 book, The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It, changed the way we think about poverty and development. Collier argued that the majority of the 5-billion people in the “developing world” live in countries with sustained high growth rates and would eventually escape from poverty. The rest—the bottom billion—live in 58 small, poor, often land-locked countries that are growing very slowly or not at all. These countries, stuck in poverty traps, should be the focus of foreign aid, Collier argued.
There are 49 countries in the world that the United Nations classifies as Least Developed Countries (LDCs). How does a country wind up on the list, and how is the international community working to help these countries develop? My guest this week is Debapriya Bhattacharya, currently a Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the 
I’m joined on the Wonkcast this week by 
I’m joined this week by Nancy Birdsall, president of the Center for Global Development. Nancy introduced Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when 
