Other Poverty Study

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The Middle Class in the Philippines: An Exploration of the Conditions for Upward Mobility

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06-19) World Bank

A decade of rapid economic growth has supported upward mobility and the expansion of the middle class in the Philippines. While the Philippines’ record of economic growth has been sound, many East Asian countries have performed better, resulting in higher levels of economic mobility and more rapid middle-class expansion. This study aims to inform these efforts through an in-depth examination of varying factors that affect upward mobility and middle-class expansion in the Philippines.
Braving the Storm: Poverty and Inequality in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2007-2011

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-05) World Bank ; Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina ; FBiH Institute for Statistics ; RS Institute for Statistics ; AGe

This note describes the trends in, and composition of, absolute poverty based on household expenditures, and is thus concerned, as a matter of policy objectives, with access of the population to a particular minimum standard of living. This should be viewed as complementary to the companion note on social exclusion based on Europe 2020 indicators including the relative at-risk-of-poverty (AROP) rate, focuses on low income in relation to other residents in a given country. In addition to the analysis of absolute poverty, the note also presents an analysis of inclusive growth, aimed at assessing whether income growth (losses) benefit (impact) differentially the lowest part (here, bottom forty percent) of the distribution. Other approaches, such as those including measures of poverty based on current income, or self-reported measures of affordability, or approached that differ in the way they set the poverty threshold exist. The choice of World Bank’s methodology for purposes of this report is primarily on pragmatic grounds: (i) it allows for the analysis of trends during 2007-2011; (ii) the same methodology was adopted in the previous report (World Bank 2009) to analyze poverty trends during 2004-2007, thus providing a longer trend; (iii) it allows for comparisons of trends across the entities of BiH.
More Jobs, Better Jobs : A Priority for Egypt

(Washington, DC, 2014-06) World Bank

Much of the current debate around the recent economic crisis in the Arab Republic of Egypt has focused on unemployment. Although unemployment is an important marker of labor market health, the jobs problem in Egypt precedes the recent crisis and is manifested markedly in other labor market metrics. Indeed, the link between growth and unemployment in Egypt is weak, particularly for men. This chapter argues that the reason for this weak link is partly related to decades of flawed industrial policies that have discouraged investment in employment-generating activities. Industrial policies, including those implemented in the mid-2000s, were never focused on mitigating market failures to promote the emergence of fast-growing, high-productivity firms. Instead, they have worked to preserve insider privileges, leading to growth in sectors that are not labor intensive. Policy makers therefore need to look beyond supply-side focused labor market policies to accelerate employment growth.
EU11 Regular Economic Report : Coping with External Headwinds

(Washington, DC, 2012-06) World Bank

This study claims that despite the challenging external environment, EU11 countries did well in 2011. First, economic growth strengthened to above 3 percent (from around 2 percent in 2010) and the region fully recovered its output losses from the global financial crisis. Second, fiscal measures delivered reduction of around 3 percent of GDP in the EU11 average fiscal deficit. Third, the financial sector remained resilient to renewed concerns about negative feedback loops between insecure sovereign debtors and fragile financial markets. However, the good performance conceals important shifts in economic sentiment that occurred during the year. While the growth momentum was still strong in the first half of 2011, it slowed toward the end of the year, as the region started to feel the impact of lingering concerns about European sovereign-debt markets, creeping oil prices, and the global slowdown. With the downward trend in economic activity, labor markets remained slack. Unemployment rates hovered around those recorded in the midst of the global financial crisis with sluggish employment growth. The paper points out that the European economic growth model has delivered unprecedented welfare to the continent over the last half century. In spite of its remarkable success, several aspects of the European economic growth model require reform to ensure that it is sustainable. Among the priorities for many European states today are providing incentives for labor mobility, making public finances more sustainable, and adapting social security systems to demographic developments, and harmonizing regulation across borders. This note zeroes in on the EU11 region to explore what is driving their prosperity and growth. The main messages related to the drivers of growth and prosperity in EU11 are as follows: 1) Convergence; 2) Trade and finance; 3) Enterprise and innovation; 4) Labor; and 4) Government.
In Search of Opportunities : How a More Mobile Workforce Can Propel Ukraine’s Prosperity (Vol. 1 of 2) : Summary Report

(Washington, DC, 2012-05) World Bank

Ukrainians do not move often, and when they do move, they don't necessarily go to areas with good jobs and high wages. Internal mobility is about half of what is expected when comparing Ukraine with other countries. The lack of mobility is remarkable, given the availability of more jobs and better wages in several Ukrainian cities. Too few people are taking advantage of economic opportunities, and as a result, Ukraine's structural transformation has stalled. This is a sharp contrast to many other countries in Eastern Europe, where the transition to a market economy has been accompanied by a shift from widely-dispersed industries to a concentration of capital and production in a few areas, and from low- to higher-productivity sectors. Labor has largely mirrored the movement of capital and production. In Ukraine, however, labor is not flowing as smoothly to areas of high production. This report examines the mobility of workers inside Ukraine and their willingness to physically relocate from one area or region to another in search of better economic opportunities. The report explores the patterns and trends of labor mobility in Ukraine as well as the drivers and constraints of that mobility, and derives policy implications from its findings. Second chapter of this volume offers evidence of how a mobile workforce benefits the economy. It shows how the economic transition in most of Eastern Europe has been accompanied by the significant concentration of capital and people in a few areas. This has not happened to the same extent in Ukraine. Third chapter shows that what little migration we see in Ukraine is not necessarily going to the leading regions. For internal migration to lead to growth and better living standards, workers have to move to the areas of the country where productivity and therefore, wages are high, and where unemployment is low. Third chapter more over examines the factors that prevent Ukrainians from moving. Fourth chapter offers recommendations for creating greater labor mobility in Ukraine. It explains how addressing the institutional bottlenecks that affect internal mobility will allow more people, especially the poor, to access better jobs, accelerating growth and enabling living standards to rise.
In Search of Opportunities : How a More Mobile Workforce Can Propel Ukraine’s Prosperity (Vol. 2 of 2) : Technical Report

(Washington, DC, 2012-05) World Bank

Ukrainians do not move often, and when they do move, they don't necessarily go to areas with good jobs and high wages. Internal mobility is about half of what is expected when comparing Ukraine with other countries. The lack of mobility is remarkable, given the availability of more jobs and better wages in several Ukrainian cities. Too few people are taking advantage of economic opportunities, and as a result, Ukraine's structural transformation has stalled. This is a sharp contrast to many other countries in Eastern Europe, where the transition to a market economy has been accompanied by a shift from widely-dispersed industries to a concentration of capital and production in a few areas, and from low- to higher-productivity sectors. Labor has largely mirrored the movement of capital and production. In Ukraine, however, labor is not flowing as smoothly to areas of high production. This report examines the mobility of workers inside Ukraine and their willingness to physically relocate from one area or region to another in search of better economic opportunities. The report explores the patterns and trends of labor mobility in Ukraine as well as the drivers and constraints of that mobility, and derives policy implications from its findings. Second chapter of this volume offers evidence of how a mobile workforce benefits the economy. It shows how the economic transition in most of Eastern Europe has been accompanied by the significant concentration of capital and people in a few areas. This has not happened to the same extent in Ukraine. Third chapter shows that what little migration we see in Ukraine is not necessarily going to the leading regions. For internal migration to lead to growth and better living standards, workers have to move to the areas of the country where productivity and therefore, wages are high, and where unemployment is low. Third chapter more over examines the factors that prevent Ukrainians from moving. Fourth chapter offers recommendations for creating greater labor mobility in Ukraine. It explains how addressing the institutional bottlenecks that affect internal mobility will allow more people, especially the poor, to access better jobs, accelerating growth and enabling living standards to rise.
Liberia : Strategic Policy Options for Medium Term Growth and Development

(Washington, DC, 2012-03-15) World Bank

This paper explores Liberia's policy options in support of the development of a Medium-Term Growth and Development Strategy (MTGDS) for 2013-2017 and its national vision, Liberia Rising 2030. At issue is the mismatch between available fiscal space and the enormous development needs that the government must resolve as it prepares to transform the economy into a middle-income country by 2040. This dilemma calls for the new administration to make trade-offs among various priorities if it is to achieve its aspirations. For this purpose, a Liberian version of a single-country Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model, MAMS (Maquette for Millennium Development Goal, or MDG simulations), was developed and informed by analytical studies as well as sector strategies prepared in support of Liberia's MTGDS. This paper examines the likely impacts on macroeconomic and social indicators of alternate strategic policy scenarios. A base scenario (designed to represent a central case for the evolution of Liberia's economy up to 2030) was first established, and thereafter a set of different assumptions were introduced for the mining sector, government spending on infrastructure and human development, and foreign borrowing. The paper is organized into five sections including this introduction. Section two presents the basic features of MAMS. The simulation analysis, which is the focus of the paper, is covered in the next two sections: the base scenario in section three and a set of alternative scenarios, which are contrasted with the base scenario, in section four. The final section summarizes the main findings and conclusion. Appendices one and two include a set of figures with selected simulation results and a brief discussion of the Liberian database for MAMS, respectively.
Jamaica : Poverty and Social Impacts of Fiscal Reforms

(Washington, DC, 2012) World Bank

This Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) explores the distributional effects of a package of fiscal reforms initiated by the Government of Jamaica and supported by the World Bank under the programmatic fiscal sustainability Development Policy Loan (DPL) series. The DPL series supports improved budget and debt management in order to reduce the debt overhang and create additional fiscal space for productive public spending, including social expenditures. The PSIA discusses the poverty and distributional impacts of the prior actions supported under the DPL, with a particular focus on two reform actions likely to have the most significant impacts: (1) tax reform and (2) public sector reform, focusing on rationalization of public bodies. The report offers both quantitative and qualitative assessments of the potential poverty and distributional effects of these policy changes. The report is structured as follows: section two analyzes the expected impact of changes in tax policy; section three investigates the potential impacts of public bodies' rationalization, and section four offers some caveats and concluding remarks. Each section begins with a discussion of the reform background as well as the major supporters and opponents of the reform. The analysis in each section is presented with the least possible amount of technical details in order to maximize the appeal to a broader audience. For the interested reader, the methodological details of the empirical approaches employed in this report are contained in the annexes.
Coping with Conflict? Poverty and Inclusion in the West Bank and Gaza

(World Bank, 2011-07-29) World Bank

The prevailing reality in the West Bank and Gaza, with its profound dependence on international aid and Israel, the stifling man-made regime of internal and external barriers to mobility, and the limited say on its economic policies and trade, is unique in the world. This report provides a detailed analysis of poverty and its close and enduring links with labor market outcomes and restrictions on the movement of goods and people in the West Bank and Gaza. The overarching objective of the report is to understand the trends in and determinants of poverty in the context of the ongoing conflict and closure regime. Covering the period after the second Intifada, this report is the first major analysis of poverty in the West Bank and Gaza since 2001, and unique in its use of multiple data sources, building a comprehensive and current picture of the economic and social well being of the Palestinian people. The dominant narrative of this report is one of divergence in important dimensions of poverty, growth and welfare between the West Bank and Gaza.
Moldova - After the Global Crisis : Promoting Competitiveness and Shared Growth

(World Bank, 2011-06-14) World Bank

This report argues that in the future Moldova will need to develop a second engine of growth from exports of goods and services. We argue that Moldova needs to resurrect agro-based exports, to raise their value by exporting to higher value markets, and develop service exports in order to provide job opportunities for underemployed tertiary graduates. To be successful in doing so, the government will need to implement deep fiscal and structural reforms to break the cycle, while taking advantage of productivity gains. Much needs fixing, and Moldova's public sector does not have the capacity to fix it all. Moldova's leaders need to reach consensus on a comprehensive and sequenced growth and poverty reduction strategy. This report sketches out what such a strategy should contain. The author suggests that geography and the Government's policy stance fundamentally shape Moldova's economic growth potential and the path and priorities that a growth strategy should follow. Government needs to accelerate reforms so that the country can emerge from the global crisis-induced recession with faster and less vulnerable growth. Business as usual will not suffice. The world's capital markets have become tighter, foreign investors more demanding, and export markets more competitive. In April 2009, Moldova's youth indicated that that they can no longer stand aside and watch Moldova fall behind, they have called for a politics of aspiration, and they will demand economic policies consistent with these aspirations.