Rethinking Poverty

UN Report on the World Social Situation (RWSS) 2010

Available online at: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/rwss/2010.html

“  the report seeks to contribute to rethinking poverty and its eradication. It affirms the urgent need for a strategic shift away from the market fundamentalist thinking, policies and practices of recent decades towards more sustainable development- and equity-oriented policies appropriate to national conditions and circumstances. ….”

The Report makes a compelling case for rethinking poverty and poverty-reduction efforts, saying that over-reliance on market forces and economic liberalization have led to neglect of nationally designed and developmentally-oriented strategies, to the detriment of the world’s poor. The most important lesson, according is that governments need to play a developmental role, integrating economic and social policies that support inclusive output and employment growth, while attacking inequality and promoting justice…..”

Content

Executive Summary

Full Report

Chapters of the Report

• Preface
• Chapter I: Rethinking poverty: which way now?
• Chapter II: Poverty: the official numbers
• Chapter III: The poverty of poverty measurement
• Chapter IV: Deprivation, vulnerability and exclusion
• Chapter V: Macroeconomic policies and poverty reduction
• Chapter VI: Economic liberalization and poverty reduction
• Chapter VII: Labour-market and social policies and poverty reduction
• Chapter VIII: Poverty reduction programmes
• Chapter IX: Rethinking poverty reduction interventions
• Bibliography