10.17889/E109576V1
Ravallion, Martin
Replication data for: Why Don't We See Poverty Convergence?
ICPSR Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
2012
10.1257/aer.102.1.504
10.1257/aer.102.1.504
1
Average living standards are converging among developing countries and faster growing economies see more progress against poverty. Yet we do not find poverty convergence; countries starting with higher poverty rates do not see higher proportionate rates of poverty reduction. The paper tries to explain why. Analysis of a new dataset suggests that, at given mean consumption, high initial poverty has an adverse effect on
consumption growth and also makes growth less poverty-reducing. Thus, for many poor countries, the growth advantage of starting out with a low mean is lost due to a high incidence of poverty. (JEL D63, I31, I32, O15)