Beneath The Surface
Brainstorming basics from Beijing
Beijing, the capital of China, had been growing briskly over the years as far as conferences are concerned. The reasons are not far to seek. The most populous country of the world is growing economically at an enviable rate, and its pace of poverty reduction is worth the wonder and eminence.
But the previous conferences apparently would pale before the last one held on October 17-19. It is likely to be so for two reasons. First, the theme of the conference: "Taking action for the world's poor and hungry." A galaxy of experts, researchers, activists and policy makers from all over the world were drawn in a brainstorming exercise of identifying the causes of, and initiating the cures for removing, poverty and hunger.
Second, the conference covered almost all aspects of poverty and hunger that economists, politicians and sociologists could possibly make a list of. In a lighter vein, I can say that it was a "pin to plane" discussion on poverty related paradigms. The "mind boggling mega-meeting," if I am allowed to call it that, was organised by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development (LGOPAD), China.
For most of what I shall present below in this column today, I shall heavily draw upon the concluding remarks made by Joachim von Braun -- the Director General of the IFPRI and a world famous economist well-known for his researches on sustainable poverty reduction in developing countries.
Poverty is pervasive
Looking at figures, one could conclude that poverty continues to be pervasive all over the world. Globally, about 1 billion people are "absolute" poor, living on less than a dollar a day. This is just the tip of the poverty-iceberg: about 162 million people groan well under that mark of 1 dollar/day; about 800 million are hungry, lacking sufficient access to food to lead healthy, productive lives. Far more people suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Although the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) -- to halve the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day by 2015 -- maybe met at global level, in some regions it will not. Thus, one should be cautious in deriving consolation from the outcome as the aggregate poverty reduction picture might conceal the regional clouds. However, even if poverty falls by the expected level, 700 million will still remain extremely poor in 2015 and beyond, and 600 million will have to go to bed every night without food. Concepts and concerns
Successful actions need theory and development of concepts, and a rich discussion on that score followed in the brainstorming sessions in Beijing. Growth per se is no panacea; rather, growth plus should be the prescription. There are good inequalities (e.g. incentives to innovations) and bad inequalities (e.g. conspicuous consumption), and a clear bifurcation is called for. Again, there is a "poverty trap" where poverty itself could be the cause of inequality, as opposed to the prevailing wisdom that says that inequality leads to poverty. Achieving MDG is a function of economic growth, change of income distribution, targeting policies and coverage, appropriate program design etc. The drivers of inequality are credit constraints, exclusion, risks, uncertainties and lack of incentive issues in public transfers. Pockets of poverty
The largest segment of the world's poorest lives in sub-Sahara Africa, faced with continuous conflicts, and hence, tends to suffer stagnation. The message is that political instability or crisis cripples the poor the most. The twin problems of predominantly rural poor and growing number of urban poor also drew the attention of the speakers. Interestingly, beneath the surface, the minorities (e.g. ethnic groups, women, disabled, children) are the majority amongst the poorest, and this largest group benefited the least from growth and development. Also in evidence are substantial movements in and out of poverty. Risky roads
The roads towards attaining the MDG are risky too. Occasional crises cripple the poor most. Food prices and resource scarcity, macro-economic imbalances, climate change and environmental sustainability stand to thwart attempts to eradicate poverty and hunger. Those who crossed the poverty line suddenly fall below to join the army of the poor. Thus, various types of poverty reduction strategies need to be undertaken. The short, medium and long-run policies should be clearly spelled out. Key actions
There is no disagreement in the fact that what is needed is inclusive growth with emphasis on rural growth. Agriculture and rural development holds the key to actions. Access to assets, infrastructure and markets are required, and public policies should be tuned to that direction. Also, governments have to strengthen social protection. Increasing investment in education and health, particularly for women and children, has to be on the top of agenda relating to alleviation of poverty and hunger. Ecologically backward areas should be provided with research and technology. Increasing crop productivity, and provision for environmental services should be ensured. The Chinese "soup"
It appears that the selection of the venue for holding such a conference was right. If the level and the pace of poverty reduction could be ranked, China would definitely stand at the top, as Chinese record on that score is simply outstanding: from 33 percent a few decades back, poverty level stands at 10 percent now! The most important lessons on the basics of alleviation of poverty that China gives us is its adoption of policies and programs on the basis of experimentation and pilot tracking: if you succeed in pilot projects, scale up, otherwise abandon them. Foreign aid and grants are essential, but must suit the country's own conditions. Without agricultural and rural development, poverty reduction will be a futile exercise. People must be empowered in the formulation and implementation of developmental projects. Socialist or market economy of Chinese variety is the soup that other countries could sip for their survival. Abdul Bayes is a Professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University.
Looking at figures, one could conclude that poverty continues to be pervasive all over the world. Globally, about 1 billion people are "absolute" poor, living on less than a dollar a day. This is just the tip of the poverty-iceberg: about 162 million people groan well under that mark of 1 dollar/day; about 800 million are hungry, lacking sufficient access to food to lead healthy, productive lives. Far more people suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Although the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) -- to halve the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day by 2015 -- maybe met at global level, in some regions it will not. Thus, one should be cautious in deriving consolation from the outcome as the aggregate poverty reduction picture might conceal the regional clouds. However, even if poverty falls by the expected level, 700 million will still remain extremely poor in 2015 and beyond, and 600 million will have to go to bed every night without food. Concepts and concerns
Successful actions need theory and development of concepts, and a rich discussion on that score followed in the brainstorming sessions in Beijing. Growth per se is no panacea; rather, growth plus should be the prescription. There are good inequalities (e.g. incentives to innovations) and bad inequalities (e.g. conspicuous consumption), and a clear bifurcation is called for. Again, there is a "poverty trap" where poverty itself could be the cause of inequality, as opposed to the prevailing wisdom that says that inequality leads to poverty. Achieving MDG is a function of economic growth, change of income distribution, targeting policies and coverage, appropriate program design etc. The drivers of inequality are credit constraints, exclusion, risks, uncertainties and lack of incentive issues in public transfers. Pockets of poverty
The largest segment of the world's poorest lives in sub-Sahara Africa, faced with continuous conflicts, and hence, tends to suffer stagnation. The message is that political instability or crisis cripples the poor the most. The twin problems of predominantly rural poor and growing number of urban poor also drew the attention of the speakers. Interestingly, beneath the surface, the minorities (e.g. ethnic groups, women, disabled, children) are the majority amongst the poorest, and this largest group benefited the least from growth and development. Also in evidence are substantial movements in and out of poverty. Risky roads
The roads towards attaining the MDG are risky too. Occasional crises cripple the poor most. Food prices and resource scarcity, macro-economic imbalances, climate change and environmental sustainability stand to thwart attempts to eradicate poverty and hunger. Those who crossed the poverty line suddenly fall below to join the army of the poor. Thus, various types of poverty reduction strategies need to be undertaken. The short, medium and long-run policies should be clearly spelled out. Key actions
There is no disagreement in the fact that what is needed is inclusive growth with emphasis on rural growth. Agriculture and rural development holds the key to actions. Access to assets, infrastructure and markets are required, and public policies should be tuned to that direction. Also, governments have to strengthen social protection. Increasing investment in education and health, particularly for women and children, has to be on the top of agenda relating to alleviation of poverty and hunger. Ecologically backward areas should be provided with research and technology. Increasing crop productivity, and provision for environmental services should be ensured. The Chinese "soup"
It appears that the selection of the venue for holding such a conference was right. If the level and the pace of poverty reduction could be ranked, China would definitely stand at the top, as Chinese record on that score is simply outstanding: from 33 percent a few decades back, poverty level stands at 10 percent now! The most important lessons on the basics of alleviation of poverty that China gives us is its adoption of policies and programs on the basis of experimentation and pilot tracking: if you succeed in pilot projects, scale up, otherwise abandon them. Foreign aid and grants are essential, but must suit the country's own conditions. Without agricultural and rural development, poverty reduction will be a futile exercise. People must be empowered in the formulation and implementation of developmental projects. Socialist or market economy of Chinese variety is the soup that other countries could sip for their survival. Abdul Bayes is a Professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University.
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