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THE ECONOMICS OF POVERTY P
THE ECONOMICS OF POVERTY Pby MARTIN RAVALLION, 9780199474950
736 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 10, 2018
Very insightful and interesting. The explanation of general macroeconomic and microeconomic concepts are also given which makes the reading more comprehensible.
February 12, 2018
Wow, what a trove of a book. Incredible overview of the intellectual history, modes of measurement, and policy responses to global poverty. Very focused on international policy, so not as relevant as would be wanted by some looking at domestic issues, but Ravallion gives an evenhanded, smart overview of all the major topics in international poverty here. Incredible book.
August 27, 2017
At the micro-level, Martin Ravallion does a great job in describing and evaluating top-down poverty reduction programs based on redistribution run by international agencies, as expected from someone who has spent has career advocating and working with these programs.
At the macro-level, Martin Ravallion does a very poor job of evaluating the value of these programs and very unfairly characterizes individuals who advocate a more market based approach to poverty reduction, as there is overwhelming evidence market based approaches reduce absolute poverty to a make greater extent than the top down approaches aimed at redistribution he advocates.
The author ignores the fact, the majority of the fastest reduction in absolute poverty ever seen in the world, in China, was achieved prior to the Chinese government even starting up specific poverty reduction programs. The evidence overwhelming suggests large scale poverty reduction is achieved by economic growth and not redistribution, although most people would agree that a limited amount of redistribution can help a minority of people in the short run who do not directly benefit from economic growth.
He tends to quickly accept the results of studies that support his worldview, while going into each and every possible limitation of studies that do not support his worldview to such an extent that he implies we cannot accept the results of any study that does not confirm his pre-existing notions.
He makes a big deal over the fact not all economic growth reduces poverty to the same extent, which is an important point, but he also ignores the facts that every example of rapid economic growth has resulted in declines in absolute poverty and there is not a single example of significant reductions in absolute poverty through the redistribution policies he advocates without significant economic growth, he obviously knows these facts but tends to gloss over these very important facts as they do not support his advocacy of top-down redistribution policies designed by economists in developed countries and implemented using taxpayer’s money.
Martin Ravallion is obviously a brilliant economist, it is a shame he has not devoted his talents and time to find and advocate for the most effective policies to reduce poverty and has instead focused on justifying his choice of career path.
At the macro-level, Martin Ravallion does a very poor job of evaluating the value of these programs and very unfairly characterizes individuals who advocate a more market based approach to poverty reduction, as there is overwhelming evidence market based approaches reduce absolute poverty to a make greater extent than the top down approaches aimed at redistribution he advocates.
The author ignores the fact, the majority of the fastest reduction in absolute poverty ever seen in the world, in China, was achieved prior to the Chinese government even starting up specific poverty reduction programs. The evidence overwhelming suggests large scale poverty reduction is achieved by economic growth and not redistribution, although most people would agree that a limited amount of redistribution can help a minority of people in the short run who do not directly benefit from economic growth.
He tends to quickly accept the results of studies that support his worldview, while going into each and every possible limitation of studies that do not support his worldview to such an extent that he implies we cannot accept the results of any study that does not confirm his pre-existing notions.
He makes a big deal over the fact not all economic growth reduces poverty to the same extent, which is an important point, but he also ignores the facts that every example of rapid economic growth has resulted in declines in absolute poverty and there is not a single example of significant reductions in absolute poverty through the redistribution policies he advocates without significant economic growth, he obviously knows these facts but tends to gloss over these very important facts as they do not support his advocacy of top-down redistribution policies designed by economists in developed countries and implemented using taxpayer’s money.
Martin Ravallion is obviously a brilliant economist, it is a shame he has not devoted his talents and time to find and advocate for the most effective policies to reduce poverty and has instead focused on justifying his choice of career path.
May 27, 2026
Pocos autores pueden lograr lo que Martin Ravallion hace en este libro: al mismo tiempo ser un libro que introduce y presenta conceptos avanzados sobre la medición de la pobreza, las raíces filosóficas y sociales del interés en medirla y además presentar un libro que en esencia funciona también como una introducción general a la economía.
Es una lectura muy recomendable, apta para publico de todos los niveles, el lector sin conocimiento puede encontrar una gran introducción, el lector avanzado puede encontrar discusiónes sofisticadas sobre tópicos que no siempre aparecen en los cursos.
Es una lectura muy recomendable, apta para publico de todos los niveles, el lector sin conocimiento puede encontrar una gran introducción, el lector avanzado puede encontrar discusiónes sofisticadas sobre tópicos que no siempre aparecen en los cursos.
December 24, 2020
As a student of development economics (which I love and find fascinating) I get to read quite a lot of material from the field. This book is perhaps the most overrated book I have ever read. Ravallion is a huge scientist who contributed a lot to the field of economics. Nonetheless, that does not ensure that his book is perfect.
While reading I sometimes felt like in the middle of the story of William Burroughs. Ravallion was unclear, the organisation of the chapters was fine, but the organisation of the text within the chapter was terrible. The book was tedious and monotonous.
While reading I sometimes felt like in the middle of the story of William Burroughs. Ravallion was unclear, the organisation of the chapters was fine, but the organisation of the text within the chapter was terrible. The book was tedious and monotonous.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews