The economic footing of the global poor, 1980–2005: The roles of economic growth, openness and political institutions

Abstract

Abstract:The period between 1980 and 2005 registered declining poverty, especially in its extreme form, and increasing economic inequality with implications for the economic footing of the global poor-and low-income groups. Disentangling the roles of economic growth, openness and political institutions in determining poverty and inequality using cross-national data faces enormous methodological challenges. Nevertheless, panel data regressions estimated here suggest that the poor-and low-income groups do not benefit much from economic openness and political democracy. While economic growth and government expenditures do not significantly affect poverty, they prove somewhat effective at containing inequality.

The Impacts of Government Expenditure on Poverty Alleviation in Arab Spring Countries

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The innovation necessity: Evidence from microcredit in the Dominican Republic

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