Do Poverty Traps Exist?

This paper reviews the empirical evidence on the existence of poverty traps, understood as self-reinforcing mechanisms through which poor individuals or countries remain poor. Poverty traps have captured the interest of many development policy make...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kraay, Aart, McKenzie, David
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2014
Subjects:
M1
M2
NPL
WAR
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/04/19354776/poverty-traps-exist
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17719
id okr-10986-17719
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-177192021-04-23T14:03:40Z Do Poverty Traps Exist? Kraay, Aart McKenzie, David ABSOLUTE VALUE AGGREGATE LEVEL AGRICULTURE AMOUNT OF CAPITAL ANNUAL GROWTH ANTI-POVERTY AVERAGE GROWTH BANK POLICY CAPITAL ACCUMULATION CAPITAL INVESTMENT CAPITAL INVESTMENTS CAPITAL MARKET CAPITAL STOCK CASH TRANSFERS CONSUMPTION GROWTH COORDINATION FAILURE COORDINATION FAILURES COUNTRY DATA COUNTRY LEVEL CREDIT CONSTRAINTS CREDIT MARKET CREDIT MARKETS DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH DIMINISHING RETURNS DISADVANTAGED AREAS DIVERSIFICATION DIVERSIFIED PORTFOLIOS ECONOMETRICS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC LITERATURE ECONOMIC STUDIES ECONOMIC THEORY ECONOMICS ELIGIBILITY EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE EQUILIBRIUM ESTIMATION METHOD EXTREME POVERTY EXTREMELY POOR HOUSEHOLDS FAMINE FAMINES FARMERS FIXED ASSET FIXED CAPITAL FIXED COSTS FOOD INTAKE GDP PER CAPITA GEOGRAPHIC POVERTY TRAPS GLOBAL POVERTY GROWTH MODEL GROWTH MODELS GROWTH PERFORMANCE GROWTH PROSPECTS GROWTH RATE GROWTH RATES GROWTH REGRESSIONS HEADCOUNT POVERTY HOLDING HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION HOUSEHOLD INCOME INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME DYNAMICS INCOME GAINS INCOME GROWTH INCOME LEVEL INCOME LEVELS INCREASING RETURNS INCREASING RETURNS TO SCALE INEQUALITY INFORMAL CREDIT INSURANCE INTERNATIONAL BANK INVENTORIES INVESTING INVESTMENT RATE INVESTMENT RATES INVESTMENT TECHNOLOGIES LAND DEGRADATION LIQUIDITY LOTTERY LOW INCOME M1 M2 MACROECONOMICS MALNUTRITION MARGINAL PRODUCT MARGINAL PRODUCTIVITY MARGINAL RETURN MARGINAL RETURNS MARGINAL UTILITY MARGINAL UTILITY OF CONSUMPTION MARKET FAILURES MICROENTERPRISES MICROFINANCE NPL NUTRITION PER CAPITA GROWTH PER CAPITA INCOME PER CAPITA INCOMES PERSISTENT POVERTY POLICY AREAS POLICY IMPLICATIONS POLICY INTERVENTIONS POLICY MAKERS POLICY PERSPECTIVE POLICY RESEARCH POLITICAL ECONOMY POOR POOR AREAS POOR COUNTRIES POOR INDIVIDUALS POOR POPULATION POOR RURAL AREAS POVERTY RATES POVERTY TRAPS PRODUCTION FUNCTION PRODUCTIVE ASSETS PRODUCTIVE INVESTMENTS PRODUCTIVITY PROPERTY RIGHTS PURCHASING POWER REAL GDP REMOTE RURAL AREAS RISING DEMAND RISK MANAGEMENT RURAL RURAL REGIONS RURAL ROADS RURAL WOMEN SAVING FUNCTION SAVING RATE SAVINGS SMALL BUSINESS SMALL BUSINESSES STANDARD DEVIATION STANDARD OF LIVING TARGETING TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH TRANSITION ECONOMIES ULTRAPOOR UNEMPLOYMENT WAGES WAR WATER AVAILABILITY WEALTH WORKERS EXPERIENCE WORKING CAPITAL This paper reviews the empirical evidence on the existence of poverty traps, understood as self-reinforcing mechanisms through which poor individuals or countries remain poor. Poverty traps have captured the interest of many development policy makers, because poverty traps provide a theoretically coherent explanation for persistent poverty. They also suggest that temporary policy interventions may have long-term effects on poverty. However, a review of the reduced-form empirical evidence suggests that truly stagnant incomes of the sort predicted by standard models of poverty traps are in fact quite rare. Moreover, the empirical evidence regarding several canonical mechanisms underlying models of poverty traps is mixed. 2014-04-10T19:26:52Z 2014-04-10T19:26:52Z 2014-04 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/04/19354776/poverty-traps-exist http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17719 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6835 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
en_US
topic ABSOLUTE VALUE
AGGREGATE LEVEL
AGRICULTURE
AMOUNT OF CAPITAL
ANNUAL GROWTH
ANTI-POVERTY
AVERAGE GROWTH
BANK POLICY
CAPITAL ACCUMULATION
CAPITAL INVESTMENT
CAPITAL INVESTMENTS
CAPITAL MARKET
CAPITAL STOCK
CASH TRANSFERS
CONSUMPTION GROWTH
COORDINATION FAILURE
COORDINATION FAILURES
COUNTRY DATA
COUNTRY LEVEL
CREDIT CONSTRAINTS
CREDIT MARKET
CREDIT MARKETS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPMENT COUNTRIES
DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH
DIMINISHING RETURNS
DISADVANTAGED AREAS
DIVERSIFICATION
DIVERSIFIED PORTFOLIOS
ECONOMETRICS
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMIC LITERATURE
ECONOMIC STUDIES
ECONOMIC THEORY
ECONOMICS
ELIGIBILITY
EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
EQUILIBRIUM
ESTIMATION METHOD
EXTREME POVERTY
EXTREMELY POOR HOUSEHOLDS
FAMINE
FAMINES
FARMERS
FIXED ASSET
FIXED CAPITAL
FIXED COSTS
FOOD INTAKE
GDP PER CAPITA
GEOGRAPHIC POVERTY TRAPS
GLOBAL POVERTY
GROWTH MODEL
GROWTH MODELS
GROWTH PERFORMANCE
GROWTH PROSPECTS
GROWTH RATE
GROWTH RATES
GROWTH REGRESSIONS
HEADCOUNT POVERTY
HOLDING
HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
INCOME
INCOME DISTRIBUTION
INCOME DYNAMICS
INCOME GAINS
INCOME GROWTH
INCOME LEVEL
INCOME LEVELS
INCREASING RETURNS
INCREASING RETURNS TO SCALE
INEQUALITY
INFORMAL CREDIT
INSURANCE
INTERNATIONAL BANK
INVENTORIES
INVESTING
INVESTMENT RATE
INVESTMENT RATES
INVESTMENT TECHNOLOGIES
LAND DEGRADATION
LIQUIDITY
LOTTERY
LOW INCOME
M1
M2
MACROECONOMICS
MALNUTRITION
MARGINAL PRODUCT
MARGINAL PRODUCTIVITY
MARGINAL RETURN
MARGINAL RETURNS
MARGINAL UTILITY
MARGINAL UTILITY OF CONSUMPTION
MARKET FAILURES
MICROENTERPRISES
MICROFINANCE
NPL
NUTRITION
PER CAPITA GROWTH
PER CAPITA INCOME
PER CAPITA INCOMES
PERSISTENT POVERTY
POLICY AREAS
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
POLICY INTERVENTIONS
POLICY MAKERS
POLICY PERSPECTIVE
POLICY RESEARCH
POLITICAL ECONOMY
POOR
POOR AREAS
POOR COUNTRIES
POOR INDIVIDUALS
POOR POPULATION
POOR RURAL AREAS
POVERTY RATES
POVERTY TRAPS
PRODUCTION FUNCTION
PRODUCTIVE ASSETS
PRODUCTIVE INVESTMENTS
PRODUCTIVITY
PROPERTY RIGHTS
PURCHASING POWER
REAL GDP
REMOTE RURAL AREAS
RISING DEMAND
RISK MANAGEMENT
RURAL
RURAL REGIONS
RURAL ROADS
RURAL WOMEN
SAVING FUNCTION
SAVING RATE
SAVINGS
SMALL BUSINESS
SMALL BUSINESSES
STANDARD DEVIATION
STANDARD OF LIVING
TARGETING
TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY
TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH
TRANSITION ECONOMIES
ULTRAPOOR
UNEMPLOYMENT
WAGES
WAR
WATER AVAILABILITY
WEALTH
WORKERS EXPERIENCE
WORKING CAPITAL
spellingShingle ABSOLUTE VALUE
AGGREGATE LEVEL
AGRICULTURE
AMOUNT OF CAPITAL
ANNUAL GROWTH
ANTI-POVERTY
AVERAGE GROWTH
BANK POLICY
CAPITAL ACCUMULATION
CAPITAL INVESTMENT
CAPITAL INVESTMENTS
CAPITAL MARKET
CAPITAL STOCK
CASH TRANSFERS
CONSUMPTION GROWTH
COORDINATION FAILURE
COORDINATION FAILURES
COUNTRY DATA
COUNTRY LEVEL
CREDIT CONSTRAINTS
CREDIT MARKET
CREDIT MARKETS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPMENT COUNTRIES
DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH
DIMINISHING RETURNS
DISADVANTAGED AREAS
DIVERSIFICATION
DIVERSIFIED PORTFOLIOS
ECONOMETRICS
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMIC LITERATURE
ECONOMIC STUDIES
ECONOMIC THEORY
ECONOMICS
ELIGIBILITY
EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
EQUILIBRIUM
ESTIMATION METHOD
EXTREME POVERTY
EXTREMELY POOR HOUSEHOLDS
FAMINE
FAMINES
FARMERS
FIXED ASSET
FIXED CAPITAL
FIXED COSTS
FOOD INTAKE
GDP PER CAPITA
GEOGRAPHIC POVERTY TRAPS
GLOBAL POVERTY
GROWTH MODEL
GROWTH MODELS
GROWTH PERFORMANCE
GROWTH PROSPECTS
GROWTH RATE
GROWTH RATES
GROWTH REGRESSIONS
HEADCOUNT POVERTY
HOLDING
HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
INCOME
INCOME DISTRIBUTION
INCOME DYNAMICS
INCOME GAINS
INCOME GROWTH
INCOME LEVEL
INCOME LEVELS
INCREASING RETURNS
INCREASING RETURNS TO SCALE
INEQUALITY
INFORMAL CREDIT
INSURANCE
INTERNATIONAL BANK
INVENTORIES
INVESTING
INVESTMENT RATE
INVESTMENT RATES
INVESTMENT TECHNOLOGIES
LAND DEGRADATION
LIQUIDITY
LOTTERY
LOW INCOME
M1
M2
MACROECONOMICS
MALNUTRITION
MARGINAL PRODUCT
MARGINAL PRODUCTIVITY
MARGINAL RETURN
MARGINAL RETURNS
MARGINAL UTILITY
MARGINAL UTILITY OF CONSUMPTION
MARKET FAILURES
MICROENTERPRISES
MICROFINANCE
NPL
NUTRITION
PER CAPITA GROWTH
PER CAPITA INCOME
PER CAPITA INCOMES
PERSISTENT POVERTY
POLICY AREAS
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
POLICY INTERVENTIONS
POLICY MAKERS
POLICY PERSPECTIVE
POLICY RESEARCH
POLITICAL ECONOMY
POOR
POOR AREAS
POOR COUNTRIES
POOR INDIVIDUALS
POOR POPULATION
POOR RURAL AREAS
POVERTY RATES
POVERTY TRAPS
PRODUCTION FUNCTION
PRODUCTIVE ASSETS
PRODUCTIVE INVESTMENTS
PRODUCTIVITY
PROPERTY RIGHTS
PURCHASING POWER
REAL GDP
REMOTE RURAL AREAS
RISING DEMAND
RISK MANAGEMENT
RURAL
RURAL REGIONS
RURAL ROADS
RURAL WOMEN
SAVING FUNCTION
SAVING RATE
SAVINGS
SMALL BUSINESS
SMALL BUSINESSES
STANDARD DEVIATION
STANDARD OF LIVING
TARGETING
TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY
TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH
TRANSITION ECONOMIES
ULTRAPOOR
UNEMPLOYMENT
WAGES
WAR
WATER AVAILABILITY
WEALTH
WORKERS EXPERIENCE
WORKING CAPITAL
Kraay, Aart
McKenzie, David
Do Poverty Traps Exist?
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6835
description This paper reviews the empirical evidence on the existence of poverty traps, understood as self-reinforcing mechanisms through which poor individuals or countries remain poor. Poverty traps have captured the interest of many development policy makers, because poverty traps provide a theoretically coherent explanation for persistent poverty. They also suggest that temporary policy interventions may have long-term effects on poverty. However, a review of the reduced-form empirical evidence suggests that truly stagnant incomes of the sort predicted by standard models of poverty traps are in fact quite rare. Moreover, the empirical evidence regarding several canonical mechanisms underlying models of poverty traps is mixed.
format Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author Kraay, Aart
McKenzie, David
author_facet Kraay, Aart
McKenzie, David
author_sort Kraay, Aart
title Do Poverty Traps Exist?
title_short Do Poverty Traps Exist?
title_full Do Poverty Traps Exist?
title_fullStr Do Poverty Traps Exist?
title_full_unstemmed Do Poverty Traps Exist?
title_sort do poverty traps exist?
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2014
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/04/19354776/poverty-traps-exist
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17719
_version_ 1764438263925309440