World Bank2013-08-222013-08-222002-11-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15294The 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 IGOAGGREGATE LEVELAVERAGE INCOMECAPITA GROWTHCDFCHILD LABORCONFLICTCRIMEDATA SOURCESDEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTUREDEMOGRAPHICSDIRECT IMPACTDISTRIBUTIONAL IMPACTECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC CONDITIONSECONOMIC CONSEQUENCESECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC EFFICIENCYECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC RECESSIONECONOMIC WELFAREEDUCATION LEVELEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTEMPLOYMENTEXCHANGE RATESEXTREME POVERTYFINANCIAL SECTORFINANCIAL SUPPORTGNPGROSS NATIONAL PRODUCTGROWTH RATESHEALTH INSURANCEHEALTH SURVEYHOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICSHOUSEHOLD HEADHOUSEHOLD INCOMEHOUSEHOLD SURVEYSHOUSING SUBSIDIESHUMAN CAPITALIDIOSYNCRATIC SHOCKSINCOME ADJUSTMENTSINCOME DISTRIBUTIONINCOME INEQUALITYINDIVIDUAL INCOMEINDIVIDUAL LEVELINFANT MORTALITYINFLATIONINTEREST RATESLABOR FORCELABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONLABOR MARKETLABOR MARKETSLABOR SUPPLYLIFE EXPECTANCYLIVING CONDITIONSLIVING STANDARDSLIVING STANDARDS MEASUREMENTSLONG-TERM TRENDSMACROECONOMIC MANAGEMENTMACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCEMARKET ECONOMYMICROECONOMICSNATIONAL LEVELNATIONAL POVERTYNATIONAL POVERTY LINENATURAL RESOURCESPER CAPITA INCOMEPOLICY INSTRUMENTSPOLICY MAKERSPOLITICAL FEASIBILITYPOOR BENEFITPOOR HOUSEHOLDSPOVERTY CHANGESPOVERTY COMPARISONSPOVERTY DYNAMICSPOVERTY INCREASEPOVERTY INDICATORSPOVERTY LINEPOVERTY LINESPOVERTY PROFILEPOVERTY REDUCTIONPOVERTY TRENDSPRIORITY AREASPRODUCTIVITYPUBLIC EXPENDITUREPUBLIC POLICYPUBLIC RESOURCESPUBLIC SECTORPUBLIC SPENDINGPUBLIC UTILITIESPURCHASING POWERPURCHASING POWER PARITYREAL WAGESREDUCING POVERTYRISK MANAGEMENTRURAL AREASRURAL POPULATIONRURAL POVERTYSAFETY NETSAFETY NET PROGRAMSSCHOOL GRADUATESSERVICE DELIVERYSKILLED WORKERSSOCIAL COSTSSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL INDICATORSSOCIAL OUTCOMESSOCIAL POLICYSOCIAL PROGRAMSSOCIAL PROTECTIONSOCIAL SERVICESSOCIAL WELFARESTRUCTURAL REFORMSTRUCTURAL REFORMSTACKLING POVERTYTARGETINGTARGETING MECHANISMSTELEPHONESTERTIARY EDUCATIONUNEMPLOYMENTURBAN AREASURBAN CENTERSURBAN COMMUNITIESURBAN DWELLERSURBAN HOUSEHOLDSURBAN POORURBAN POVERTYVULNERABLE GROUPSWAGE DIFFERENTIALSWELFARE EFFECTSWELFARE GAINSWELFARE INDICATORS POVERTY 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 NETSWorld Bank10.1596/15294