Publication: Urban Poverty in Ulannabaatar: Understanding the Dimensions and Addressing the Challenges
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2017-08-10
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2018-12-20
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Mongolia’s economic growth from 2010 has been unprecedented with GDP peaking at 17.5 percent in 2012 when Mongolia was the fastest growing economy globally. This unparalleled growth of the economy was accompanied by an equally impressive decline in poverty by 17 percentage points between 2010 to 2014. However, much of this decline was during 2010-2012. From 2012-2014 poverty declined by less than 6 percentage points, partly due to slowing growth and declining foreign direct investment. World Bank (2016) estimates raise concerns that poverty reduction is likely to come to a standstill due to the negative welfare impact of the economic slowdown in 2015, which is expected to continue through 2016. During 2015-16, urban poverty was projected to increase, and World Bank estimates suggest that approximately 6.5 percent of the urban population may have already fallen below the poverty line. The risks of an impending stall in poverty reduction are particularly strong in urban areas that are home to almost two-thirds of Mongolia’s population and account for 55.6 percent of the poor. Given the trends of rapid urbanization and growing centrality of cities in Mongolia, this report delves deep to examine multiple dimensions of urban poverty and how social groups might differ in their experiences of urban poverty. The objective of this report is: to carry out an in-depth analysis of the extent, nature and spatial distribution of poverty in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, which holds the largest proportion of urban population in the country and serves as the most important destination for rural-urban migrants,and to identify sources of vulnerability for poor and excluded populations using a variety of data sources that go beyond income metrics and highlight the deeply multidimensional nature of urban poverty in Ulaanbaatar. The report takes a mixed methods approach, combining quantitative, qualitative and spatial analyses. Availability of rich spatial data and the use of spatial techniques are used to create a better understanding of the locational distribution of urban poor and the nature of poor places.
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“Singh, Gayatri. 2017. Urban Poverty in Ulannabaatar: Understanding the Dimensions and Addressing the Challenges. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31047 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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