Publication:
Growth, Urbanization, and Poverty Reduction in India

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Published
2016-02
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2016-03-09
Author(s)
Datt, Gaurav
Murgai, Rinku
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Abstract
Longstanding development issues are revisited in the light of a newly-constructed data set of poverty measures for India spanning 60 years, including 20 years since reforms began in earnest in 1991. The study finds a downward trend in poverty measures since 1970, with an acceleration post-1991, despite rising inequality. Faster poverty decline came with higher growth and a more pro-poor pattern of growth. Post-1991 data suggest stronger inter-sectoral linkages: urban consumption growth brought gains to the rural as well as the urban poor, and the primary-secondary-tertiary composition of growth has ceased to matter, as all three sectors contributed to poverty reduction.
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Datt, Gaurav; Ravallion, Martin; Murgai, Rinku. 2016. Growth, Urbanization, and Poverty Reduction in India. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7568. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/23896 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
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