Chronic Poverty in Asia (ePub)

Asia contains the bulk of the world's poor, as many as 500 million people. A significant fraction of these poor are chronically poor, which means that they and their families have been poor for years and will remain in poverty unless governmental policies are adopted which can lift them out of poverty.This book focuses on rural poverty and those countries in Asia with the largest number of chronically poor, including the two emerging superpowers of China and India, other countries of South Asia and the Mekong region as well as Indonesia and Philippines in Southeast Asia. Systematic analysis of who is poor, where they live, and why they are poor is carried out. Microeconomic, sector and macroeconomic policies which have been adopted to address this important social issue are also discussed. Through specific country analysis, the book outlines additional concrete measures that can be taken to reduce chronic poverty and improve the welfare of these people.Contents:The Dimensions of Chronic Poverty in AsiaWhat Determines Chronic Poverty in Asia?The Dynamics of Chronic PovertyMicroeconomic Policies to Reduce PovertySector Policies to Reduce Chronic PovertyMacroeconomic Policies to Reduce Chronic PovertyCountry ExperiencesFinal Thoughts on PolicyReadership: Academics, researchers and advanced undergraduates and graduate students in economics; general readers interested in poverty analysis and/or Asia.Keywords:Poverty;Asia;Chronic Poverty;Poverty Policy;China;India;Southeast Asia;Indochina;South AsiaReview:“The book provides a thorough and up-to-date assessment on an important subject. The onslaught of the world economic crisis and its devastating, long-lasting consequences, burdened particularly by the poor, make the study even more timely and appealing. The sound analyses and rich information the book provides should benefit not only interested readers and policy makers in Asia, but those seriously concerned about the issue in other parts of the world as well.”Wei GeBucknell UniversityKey Features:Represents the first comprehensive analysis of chronic poverty in Asia. Most books tend to deal with specific issues or specific countries, while others, such as the Chronic Poverty Research Center in the UK, look at poverty from a global perspectiveSystematically analyzes the nature of chronic poverty including the social, economic and geographic characteristics of the rural poor in AsiaDiscusses what policies have been and could be adopted to address chronic poverty from the microeconomic, sector and macroeconomic standpointsThe first author, John Malcolm Dowling, is a well-known Asian development specialist with extensive experience in Asia, having taught in Iran, Singapore and Thailand as well as having extensive experience in dealing with these countries while he was employed at the Asian Development Bank for 15 years