The Poor and the Poorest: Some Interim Findings
- ISBN-10
- 0821310348
- ISBN-13
- 9780821310342
- Pages
- 68
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1988
- Publisher
- World Bank
- Authors
- Michael Lipton, World Bank
Description
Many governments in developing countries, donors, and nongovernmental organizations have been trying to use their resources in ways that steer the benefits towards poor people. Sharp discontinuities exist between poor and ultra-poor, but not between poor and non-poor. These differences, especially in regard to labor-market and demographic behaviors and responses, are related to income linked nutritional risks incurred, often lifelong, by ultra-poor households only. This does not prove that policies, aimed at raising productivity among the poor, do not help the ultra-poor, but it does strongly suggest that the ultra-poor may require different policies, in particular "calories and health first, " if they are to be able to raise their productivity.
