World Bank2013-08-222013-08-222002-11-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15299The report appraises the impact of economic development, or lack thereof, on the welfare of the Colombian population, and the poor in particular, over the last two decades, and, identifies priority areas for public policy action, vis-e-vis the most vulnerable groups. The welfare assessment covers three key areas - income, access to social services, and personal security, while it also compares welfare indicators between urban, and rural areas, and across other regional partitions. Questions are raised on the depths of poverty, and, on the Government's responsiveness to the incidence of poverty. Findings suggest that despite substantial long-term progress, a recent setback fostered an extreme urban poverty, and, although during the period social indicators reflect positive social development trends, homicide and domestic violence for the poor, and property crime for the non-poor have escalated to unprecedented rates, where the burden of crime is disproportionately borne by poor women. This violence disrupts the market economy, imposing a considerable psychological cost on those who are not directly victimized as well. Government actions nonetheless, show huge public expenditure efforts in social sectors, but with mixed results; therefore, the study addresses the imperative need for high economic growth to reverse poverty, through social programs prioritizing on childcare, health, and basic infrastructure. Likewise, an environment of increasing economic insecurity calls for valuable policy instruments, namely, safety-net programs, to enhance social protection.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOPOVERTY MITIGATIONECONOMIC GROWTHABSOLUTE POVERTYURBAN POVERTYPUBLIC POLICYVULNERABLE GROUPSTARGETED ASSISTANCEWELFARE ECONOMICSPOVERTY ASSESSMENTSINCOME ESTIMATESINCOME GAPSACCESSIBLE SERVICESSOCIAL SERVICESSECURITY ANALYSISPOVERTY MEASUREMENTGOVERNMENT ROLESOCIAL INDICATORSVIOLENCECRIME STATISTICSVIOLENCE AGAINST WOMENMARKET ECONOMYPUBLIC EXPENDITURESSOCIAL ACTION PROGRAMSCHILD CAREPUBLIC HEALTHBASIC NEEDSINFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC CONSTRAINTSSOCIAL SAFETY NETS ADVERSE EFFECTSAGRICULTURAL OUTPUTAVERAGE INCOMEBUSINESS CYCLECAPITA GROWTHCDFCHILD LABORCRIMECROSS-COUNTRY STUDYCURRENCY UNITDEBTDECREASING FERTILITYDEMOGRAPHIC CHANGESDEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTUREDEMOGRAPHICSDIFFERENCES IN INCOMEDISTRIBUTIONAL IMPACTDYNAMIC DECOMPOSITIONECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC BURDENECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC FACTORSECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC INDICATORSECONOMIC RECESSIONECONOMIC WELFAREEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTELASTICITYEMPIRICAL RESULTSEQUALIZING EFFECTESCAPE POVERTYEXCHANGE RATEEXPLANATORY VARIABLESEXTREME POVERTYFINANCIAL SECTORFINANCIAL SUPPORTFINANCING MECHANISMSGINI COEFFICIENTGNPGROSS NATIONAL PRODUCTGROWTH PERFORMANCEGROWTH RATEGROWTH RATESHEALTH CAREHEALTH CARE SERVICESHEALTH CARE UTILIZATIONHEALTH INSURANCEHEALTH SECTORHEALTH SURVEYHEALTH SURVEYSHOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICSHOUSEHOLD HEADHOUSEHOLD INCOMEHOUSEHOLD MEMBERSHOUSEHOLD SURVEYHOUSEHOLD SURVEYSHUMAN CAPITALIMPORT QUOTASINCOMEINCOMEINCOME DISTRIBUTIONINCOME EFFECTINCOME GROWTHINCOME INEQUALITYINCOME QUINTILESINCOME SOURCEINCOMESINCREASING INCOME INEQUALITYINCREASING INEQUALITYINCREASING UNEMPLOYMENTINDIVIDUAL INCOMEINEQUALITY INDICATORSINEQUALITY MEASURESINEQUALITY TRENDSINFANT MORTALITYINFLATIONINFLATION RATEINFLATION RATESINSURANCEINTERNATIONAL STANDARDSJOB CREATIONJOB LOSSLABOR FORCELABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONLABOR MARKETLABOR MARKETSLIFE EXPECTANCYLIVING CONDITIONSLIVING STANDARDSLIVING STANDARDS MEASUREMENTSLONG TERMMACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCEMARKET ECONOMYMICROECONOMICSMIDDLE INCOME COUNTRYNATIONAL AVERAGENEGATIVE GROWTHNEGATIVE IMPACTNEGATIVE SHOCKSNUTRITIONOILOIL PRICESOIL RESERVESOPPORTUNITY COSTOPPORTUNITY COSTSPENSION SYSTEMPER CAPITAPER CAPITA GROWTHPOOR HOUSEHOLDSPOPULATION GROWTHPOVERTY CHANGESPOVERTY DYNAMICSPOVERTY INCIDENCEPOVERTY INCREASEPOVERTY INDEXESPOVERTY LEVELSPOVERTY MEASURESPOVERTY PROFILEPOVERTY REDUCTIONPOVERTY RISKPOVERTY RISKSPRIMARY SCHOOLPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC POLICYPUBLIC SECTORPUBLIC SPENDINGPUBLIC UTILITIESPURCHASING POWERPURCHASING POWER PARITYREGIONAL DISPARITIESRELATIVE PRICESRISING INEQUALITYRULE OF LAWRURAL AREASSCHOOL GRADUATESSKILL LEVELSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL INDICATORSSOCIAL OUTCOMESSOCIAL PROGRAMSSOCIAL PROGRESSSOCIAL SERVICESSOCIAL WELFARESTRUCTURAL REFORMSTAX REVENUESTERTIARY EDUCATIONTRADE LIBERALIZATIONUNEMPLOYMENTUNEMPLOYMENT RATESURBAN AREAURBAN AREASURBAN CENTERSURBAN POPULATIONURBAN POVERTYVULNERABLE GROUPSWAGE INCOMEWAGESWELFARE FUNCTIONWELFARE GAINSWorld Bank10.1596/15299