Lanjouw, Peter F.Dang, Hai-Anh H.2015-06-022015-06-022015-05https://hdl.handle.net/10986/22006Recent National Sample Surveys point to significant poverty reduction in India since 2004/05, with a marked acceleration between 2009/10 and 2011/12. This paper enquires into important aspects of income mobility between 2004/05 and 2011/12, based on new statistical methods to convert the three pertinent National Sample Survey rounds into synthetic panels. The analysis draws on the synthetic panels to derive a vulnerability line for India that can be used to separate out a population subgroup comprising non-poor households facing a heightened risk of falling into poverty. The paper documents a strong pattern of upward mobility out of poverty and vulnerability into the middle class, with a noticeable acceleration between 2009/10 and 2011/12. The paper further undertakes a careful investigation into the comparability of the survey rounds, prompted by the observation that fairly significant modifications had been made to survey questionnaires. The findings suggest that changes in questionnaire design have not compromised the comparability of the data.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOLIVING STANDARDSGROWTH RATESREGIONAL PERSPECTIVEHOUSEHOLD SIZEHOUSEHOLD SURVEYPOINT ESTIMATEPOVERTY LINEECONOMIC GROWTHNATIONAL ACCOUNTSPOVERTY LINE YIELDINGPRO- POORINCOMENORMAL DISTRIBUTIONSCHOOLINGPOVERTY ESTIMATESPOVERTY RATESANNUAL GROWTH RATENATIONAL POVERTY LINECOUNTRY CASEVULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTCONSUMPTION DATALABOR FORCEDEVELOPING COUNTRIESNATIONAL POVERTYESTIMATION RESULTSANNUAL GROWTHCONSUMPTION AGGREGATEGLOBAL POVERTYNATIONAL POVERTY LINESHOUSEHOLD DEMOGRAPHICS0 HYPOTHESISREGIONNON-POOR HOUSEHOLDSPOVERTY REDUCTIONPOVERTY DECLINEPOVERTY DEBATEMEASURING POVERTYDEVELOPMENT ECONOMICSHOUSEHOLD HEADLOW-INCOME COUNTRIESPOVERTY CHANGEFIREWOODHOUSEHOLD COMPOSITIONHOUSEHOLD INCOMEPER CAPITA GROWTHPOVERTY STATUSESTIMATES OF POVERTYCHRONIC POVERTYEXPLANATORY VARIABLESCONSUMPTION EXPENDITURESIGNIFICANT IMPACTSOCIAL PROTECTIONECONOMIC REFORMSCHANGES IN POVERTYHOUSEHOLD MEMBERSHOUSEHOLD HEADSFOOD ITEMSEMPIRICAL APPLICATIONDEVELOPMENT RESEARCHPOVERTY LINESCONSUMPTIONREDUCING POVERTYCUMULATIVE DISTRIBUTIONURBAN RESIDENCEPOVERTY MEASUREMENTDISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONERROR TERMSDENSITY FUNCTIONRURAL POVERTYURBAN AREASAGRICULTURAL SECTORESTIMATED COEFFICIENTSRURALERROR TERMMIDDLE CLASSLOW-INCOMETRANSFER PROGRAMSPOVERTY LEVELECONOMICSEMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURECUMULATIVE DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONINSURANCEECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTRURAL RESIDENTSFOOD SUBSIDIESPOOR POPULATIONREGIONSGROWTH RATEVILLAGE LEVELRURAL AREASPOVERTYVULNERABILITY TO POVERTYHEADCOUNT POVERTYURBAN RESIDENTSHOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTIONEMPIRICAL EVIDENCEPOINT DECLINELIVING CONDITIONSDECLINE IN POVERTYPOVERTY DYNAMICSMODEL SPECIFICATIONSHOUSEHOLD WELFAREPOLICY RESEARCHPOVERTY RATEPOORPOVERTY ASSESSMENTPRIMARY EDUCATIONEXCHANGE RATEHOUSEHOLD EXPENDITUREDEVELOPMENT INDICATORSSELF-EMPLOYMENTPOVERTY ANALYSISDEVELOPMENT POLICYHUMAN DEVELOPMENTINCOME GROUPSINEQUALITYGROWTHPOOR HOUSEHOLDSWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-7270