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Last year, the FAO announced that the number of hungry people in the world increased over the last decade. In 2008, the World Bank announced a significant decline in the number of poor people up to the year 2005. According to the World Bank's much cited 'dollar-a-day' international poverty line, which was revised in 2008 to $1.25 a day in 2005 prices, there are still 1.4 billion people living in poverty, down from 1.9 billion in 1981. More than 80 per cent of the world's population live in countries where income differentials are widening. The poorest 40 per cent of the world's population account for only 5 per cent of world income, while the richest 20 per cent account for 75 per cent. The most important lesson is the need for sustained rapid growth and structural economic transformation. Governments need to play a developmental role, with implementation of integrated policies designed to support inclusive output and employment growth, as well as to reduce inequality and promote social justice.
Sundaram, J.K., 2010. Rethinking Poverty Reduction. Project-Syndicate, www.project-syndicate.org (15 January 2010). |
