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The Economics of Poverty Traps

Michael Carter editor Christopher B Barrett editor Jean-Paul Chavas editor Michael R Carter editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:The University of Chicago Press

Published:29th Jan '19

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Economics of Poverty Traps cover

What circumstances or behaviors turn poverty into a cycle that perpetuates across generations? The answer to this question carries especially important implications for the design and evaluation of policies and projects intended to reduce poverty. Yet a major challenge analysts and policymakers face in understanding poverty traps is the sheer number of mechanisms—not just financial, but also environmental, physical, and psychological—that may contribute to the persistence of poverty all over the world.

The research in this volume explores the hypothesis that poverty is self-reinforcing because the equilibrium behaviors of the poor perpetuate low standards of living. Contributions explore the dynamic, complex processes by which households accumulate assets and increase their productivity and earnings potential, as well as the conditions under which some individuals, groups, and economies struggle to escape poverty. Investigating the full range of phenomena that combine to generate poverty traps—gleaned from behavioral, health, and resource economics as well as the sociology, psychology, and environmental literatures—chapters in this volume also  present new evidence that highlights both the insights and the limits of a poverty trap lens.

The framework introduced in this volume provides a robust platform for studying well-being dynamics in developing economies. 
 

ISBN: 9780226574301

Dimensions: 23mm x 16mm x 3mm

Weight: 765g

464 pages