Drawing on the 1998 China national health services survey data, this study estimated the poverty impact of two smoking-related expenses: excessive medical spending attributable to smoking and direct spending on cigarettes. The excessive medical spending attributable to smoking is estimated using a regression model of medical expenditure with smoking status (current smoker, former smoker, never ...

Using data from a national living standards survey undertaken in late 1993, this paper disaggregates and explores the economics of livelihood generation and class in rural South Africa in an effort to contribute to the ongoing and vociferous debate in South Africa about poverty and its alleviation. Pursuant to the suggestion of participants in a recent participatory poverty assessment, this pap...

The distinguishing feature of chronic poverty is extended duration in absolute poverty. Therefore, chronically poor people always, or usually, live below a poverty line, which is normally defined in terms of a money indicator (e.g. consumption, income, etc.), but could also be defined in terms of wider or subjective aspects of deprivation. This is different from the transitorily poor, who move ...

Agricultural growth has long been recognized as an important instrument for poverty reduction. Yet, measurements of this relationship are still scarce and not always reliable. This paper presents additional evidence at both the sectoral and household levels based on recent data. Results show that rural poverty reduction has been associated with growth in yields and in agricultural labor product...

1. This paper provides the framework for IDE’s approach to poverty reduction. It seeks to make explicit the assumptions underlying IDE’s efforts to integrate the rural poor into expanding input and output markets. Its aim is to demonstrate that there is a case for taking specific action to enable the poor—especially the rural poor—to participate in markets both as customers of purchased inputs,...

In this paper, the trend and determinants of health and poverty among the elderly in rural India is analysed. Two rounds of National Sample Survey (NSS) data for the year 1995-96 and 2004 are employed. The analysis has been done with independent and pooled datasets. Our analysis shows that levels of consumption poverty have declined marginally between 1995-96 and 2004 while increased proportion...

The majority of rural population in Iran has limited access to agricultural information. However, bridging the digital gap between urban and rural areas has been a major challenge for authorities in Iran. Using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for poverty reduction and for the economic empowerment of poor women and men in rural areas have been experienced world wide. Tele-centers ...

In this paper I explore how five competing theories of poverty shape anti-poverty strategies. Since most rural community development efforts aim to relieve causes or symptoms of poverty, it makes a difference which theory of poverty is believed to be responsible for the problem being addressed. In this paper five theories of poverty are distilled from the literature. It will be shown that these...