The world suddenly got better, but no one noticed
By Deborah Stokes
From Business without Borders
References: China USA Finance
Globalization has resulted in unprecedented progress in poverty reduction
A stunning worldwide poverty goal slipped by three or so years ago, and
no one even noticed. According to a study by the Brookings Institute, a
Washington think-tank, the proportion of people living in poverty – on
income of less than $1.25 a day – is less than half what it was in 1990,
surpassing a UN goal that was targeted to happen in 2015.
The authors of the study "Poverty in Numbers: The Changing State of
Global Poverty from 2005 to 2015," say the rise of globalization and
spread of capitalism are two main reasons for the unprecedented progress
in poverty reduction. Laurence Chandy and Geoffrey Gertz found the
accelerated progress throughout the 2000s held steady even throughout
the global financial meltdown.
According to the authors, who looked at the most recent country data of
household consumption and the latest figures on private consumption
growth, there are approximately 820 million people in the world living
on less than $1.25 a day. In 2005, the latest year for official
estimates by the World Bank, there were 1.37 billion people living below
the poverty line.
"Whereas it took 25 years to reduce poverty by half a billion people up
to 2005, the same feat was likely achieved in the six years between then
and now. Never before have so many people been lifted out of poverty
over such a brief period of time," the authors wrote in the Yale Global
Online Magazine
Just as stunning is the fact that this progress has been universally
unacknowledged. In 1990, the global poverty rate was 41.6%, prompting a
key UN Millennium Goal to halve the rate by 2015. According to Chandy
and Gertz, that goal was likely reached in 2008.
And not just China is leading the change. Poverty is falling rapidly
across all regions and most countries, the authors write. "Even
sub-Saharan Africa is sharing in this progress."
They list the probable reasons for the accelerated improvement: spread
of new technologies, especially cellphones, increased investment in
infrastructure, the commodities boom and emerging markets'
diversification into novel exports, from cut flowers to call centers.
The authors say these factors are all part of a broader trend – the
spread of capitalism, the rise of globalization and the improving
quality of economic governance.
"We're on the cusp of an age of mass development which will see the
world transformed from being mostly poor to mostly middle class. The
implications of such a change will be far-reaching, touching everything
from global business opportunities, to environmental and resource
pressures to our institutions of global governance," the authors write.
"Yet fundamentally, it's a story about billions of people around the
world finally having the chance to build better lives for themselves and
their children. We should consider ourselves fortunate to be alive at
such a remarkable moment."
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +63926277-8044 (TM)
My Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
FORWARD PHILIPPINES - http://forwardphilippines.wordpress.com/
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
