No / The article examines the contribution of financial development to poverty reduction in developing countries. Building on earlier research which has established links between financial development and economic growth, and between economic growth and poverty reduction, the article tests for a causal process linking financial sector growth and poverty reduction. The empirical results indicate that, up to a threshold level of economic development, financial sector growth contributes to poverty reduction through the growth-enhancing effect. The impact of financial development on poverty reduction will be affected, however, by any change in income inequality resulting from financial development.

No / This paper represents part of an ongoing study on the topic of foreign direct investment (FDI) and poverty reduction in the ASEAN region. The overall study covers both macro- and microeconomic aspects of this issue, and this paper addresses the macro dimension. Considerable work has been done on the relation between economic growth and poverty reduction, and by now a conventional wisdom is emerging which can be stated simply that while growth is critically important for poverty reduction, the pattern and nature of the growth process in economies also matters. Following this reasoning this study explores the link between FDI and poverty reduction. The broad hypothesis to be tested is that FDI through its growth effect or other means is poverty reducing. While a great deal has been written on a variety of aspects relating to poverty, the precise FDI-poverty link has rarely been addressed directly, and we seek to remedy this gap in the literature. The paper is in four sections. The first discusses briefly the broad dimensions of poverty in the ASEAN region and recent trends in terms of FDI. Having set out these empirical dimensions, the remaining sections consider data analysis and results. The second section sets out the econometric approach and the results from the relevant literature, the third discusses data and some preliminary results. The fourth gives the main results, and finally we draw some conclusions. I. Poverty and FDI in ASEAN Naturally within ASEAN as a region the poverty picture is very varied, as one would expect given the diversity of income levels among the member states. Table 1 summarises the position in terms of income levels and past income growth rates. The inequality in the group can be seen readily with two high-income countries, Singapore and Brunei; three lower-middle income countries, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand; and the remaining members--Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar, Vietnam--all low income.

No / This report contributes new insights into the growing body of literature on inclusive green economy approaches as a key means for eradicating poverty and advancing the evolving post-2015 sustainable development agenda. The report draws on a range of country experiences and a series of case studies commissioned through the UNDP-DESA-UNEP Joint Programme Supporting a Green Economy Transition in Developing Countries and LDCs: Building Towards Rio+20 and Beyond, with the generous support of the Government of The Netherlands. Its non-prescriptive findings are designed to inform country-led efforts to transition to greener, more inclusive economies in ways that deliver on poverty reduction.

No / The chapter will consider the potential of philanthropy for social transformation. It takes a critical view of the prevailing conceptualisation in which philanthropy is considered to be an integral part of the neoliberal strategy to disperse state responsibilities in line with declining social expenditure. While philanthropic activities may be considered worthy in themselves, this chapter questions the political and ideological reasons why rich individuals, charities and large companies are engaged in social protection and poverty reduction through philanthropy. There is a broad consensus among the scholars contributing to this book that traditional philanthropy, which is driven by the ‘love of humankind’ and the wellbeing of others, has the potential to be transformative and address inequalities and injustices as well as to provide relief to the poor. However, New Philanthropy is more contentious as it reflects a relationship between giving and business interest, and the associated agency puts new philanthropists into a position of power and influence over the political and economic control of outcomes. The question of concern is not whether new philanthropy is good or bad, but what motivates this form of giving and whether the sources of new philanthropy funding are legitimate.

The situation of the low developed countries has been on the agenda of IMF and the World Bank throughout the years. However, after the disastrous failure of the Structural Adjustment Programs, the two financial institutions left the ideas of 'one model fits all' and economic growth equals development. Rather, tailored development programs and poverty reduction became the new foci. Further, it is today stressed that the broad-based participation of the civil-society and the ownership of the nation over the development process are the most important factors for successful and sustainable development. These ideas conforms the basis of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) initiative which was adopted by IMF and the World Bank in 1999. This paper will investigate indications and perceptions, given by the civil-society, of the concepts of its participation and ownership within the Poverty Reduction Processes in Bolivia and Uganda. The objective is also to, in an inductive manner, develop and increase the understanding of how, and through what means, the two concepts have been realised and contextualised. In order to fulfil this purpose, the contents and origins of the PRS initiative are outlined and the definitions of participation and national ownership, in accordance to IMF and the World Bank, are stated. Secondly, against the derived theoretical framework an empirical pilot study will be conducted, based on literature studies. The primary conclusion drawn from the analysis is that it is impossible to broaden the understanding of what types of participation that have been applied. However, important and interesting insights have been reached in relation to how participation has been contextualised. First and foremost, for a genuine participation of the civil-society it is not enough with physical presence at official consultation meetings. The people must be enabled to actively and directly participate in, and influence the agenda of, all the stages of the PRS process. In regard to national ownership it has been concluded that the term bestow more than the balance between national, governmental and international influence - it is also a feeling of being able to participate in, and influence the outcome of, PRS process. Overall, the major finding is that for a real apprehension of national ownership and participation the perception of the civil-society must be accounted for. It is the people who decide whether they have been adequately involved and if they see themselves to be the owners of the process!

Progress in human development is threatened by the complexities of global environmental change - a defining challenge of our time. Appropriate societal responses are needed to address disturbances and increasing vulnerability of social-ecological systems. This changing context calls current development thinking into question and requires new approaches, policies, and tools to cope with growing uncertainty. With a focus on capacities instead of vulnerabilities, an approach is needed emphasizing the role of communities in planning interventions and strengthening community resilience. This research draws on vulnerability, social-ecological systems and drylands development theory to advance an integrated understanding of resilience at community level and its role towards sustainable development. To develop a general approach for development actors to characterize a community's resilience and plan locally targeted interventions is the overall objective of this research. A participatory approach towards defining and assessing community resilience forms the basis, as it is assumed this would enable development actors to more efficiently address development concerns and empower communities to strengthen their resilience. Underlying factors that determine community resilience in selected dryland communities in Tigray, northeastern Ethiopia are identified. Here, most of the population depends on subsistence agriculture, while food insecurity and poverty persist despite concerted regional development efforts. This research compares and consolidates local perceptions of determinants of community resilience that form the basis for guidelines towards a methodological framework for determining levels of community resilience in Tigray. The guidelines were used to compare levels of community resilience of communities, with implications for operationalizing community resilience in the context of drylands development practice. Findings reflect the importance of recognizing that resilience is not about maintaining a status quo, but about addressing how societies can develop in a changing environment. Prominence of resilience thinking can promote a development practice better suited to address the challenges and opportunities that changes create for poor dryland communities. Resilience thinking does not provide quick solutions, but contributes a long-term, multi-dimensional perspective of building capacities for improved responses to current needs and future change. Resilience is not a solution in itself but can contribute towards developing more resilient trajectories for drylands development.

The study investigated on the channels of poverty reduction in Malawi, using household data aggregated at district level. Malawi is divided into 31 districts with different demographics and opportunities. Macro level data which was calculated in terms of district percentages were used in the study. The study emanated from the premise of the link between economic growth and poverty reduction. With the trend of growth that was seen in Malawi from 2004 to 2012; there was an interest to further investigate if there had been any significant change in the poverty levels as measured in the country by the National Statistical office. The objectives of the study were two pronged; the theoretical and the imperial. The theoretical objectives were; to provide a background of Malawi, to review the literature on poverty theories, to review the literature on the link between poverty reduction and the channels of potential impact, namely: economic growth, education attainment, access to loans and enterprises, agricultural production, population growth and employment or unemployment. The empirical objectives on the other hand were; to investigate if there has been any poverty reduction in the years 1998 to 2012 in Malawi, to assess how economic growth at a district level proxied by agriculture production and land holding affect poverty at district level in Malawi, to assess how education attainment affect poverty reduction at a district level in Malawi, conduct an analysis on how employment or unemployment affect poverty reduction at a district level. Also investigate the relationship between access to loan and poverty reduction in Malawi and to determine if different poverty measures exhibit statistically significant different responses to channels under investigation namely economic growth, education levels, population growth and access to loans at district level. The study employed descriptive and regression analysis to arrive at the results for the set empirical objectives. Due to the fact that panel data was used for districts, a random effects regression model was used for the estimations. A Breusch-Pagan test was used to decide on random effects as opposed to fixed effects model. The results from the regressions showed that all the channels that were hypothesised to be of importance, came out significant from objective based regressions. These regressions were run separately for each channel, with the district poverty rate as a dependent variable. The study found the considered channels of poverty reduction to be significant at different levels. First, it was established that there has been significant growth in Malawi. This growth however was seen to be erratic where in other years it was higher and in other years lower. A more important conclusion from the first objective was that there had been poverty reduction in the country between 1998 and 2012. A t test was also used for mean difference in the years where Integrated Household surveys were conducted namely, 1998, 2004 and 2012. The t-test showed a statistically significant reduction in poverty between 1998 and 2012 of up to 15.07. The study also found that the relationship between agricultural production and poverty was significant especially looking at local maize production which had a negative significant coefficient. Implying that, an increase in agricultural production has an associated reduction in the district poverty rate. It was also established from the results that input subsidy had a significant impact on poverty at district level. This input programme which helps poor households to access fertilizer at a highly subsidised price had a negative relationship with poverty that was significant. This shows that government’s effort in funding the national wide fertilizer subsidy has some bearing on the poverty level of the country. On the relationship between education and poverty reduction, the study also found a significant relationship. This was clear on the impact of literacy rate on poverty reduction. The regression results showed a significant negative relationship between literacy rate and poverty reduction. The channels of employment in poverty reduction was found to be significant but in a direction unexpected. Labour force participation had a positive influence on poverty rate at district level. A number of things were discovered; first the employment rate as reported in the statistical year book is misleading. What is considered employment in these statistics is basically subsistence farmers who take up more than 80% of the employment rate. Second, most of what is recorded as employment is non-skill labour with people without education recoding a 99% employment rate. This is a misleading record in as far as what employment for poverty reduction is concerned. It is therefore not a surprise that, most of the people reported as employed are also found below the poverty line some even below the ultra-poverty line. A special contribution resulting from the study is the framework on the interconnection between the channels. The study points out the fact that for agricultural production to thrive there is need for education. Also for agricultural production to succeed there is need for the farmers to have access to loans. the study discovered that more than 45 percept of the loans people obtained were for agricultural inputs. There is also a link between education and employment, education and access to loans and access to loans and employment through business start-ups that create employment. The conclusion of the study is that policies that are intended to reduce poverty should be aimed at promoting education participation. There is also need to create an environment that enables the poor to access loans and credits at a reasonable interest rate. The government should continue with the input subsidy programme for the poor household. There is need for the national statistical office to reconsider the definition of employment so that the government works with practical figures, other than the inflated employment rates that are reported in the statistical year book. / PhD (Economics), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

This thesis examines the potential of tourism’s contribution to poverty reduction as perceived by local people in Msambweni district in Kenya. Whilst many studies in tourism have focused mainly on the macro-economic impacts of tourism in developing countries, there is little empirical work on understanding its effects upon poverty reduction. Furthermore, researches on how the poor or local people define poverty are also at their embryonic stage. The research utilises multiple qualitative methods and participatory approaches including focus group discussions and meetings. Key objectives of the research are: to critically analyse how poverty is conceptualised by local people; to identify the barriers to participation in the tourism industry and development process; and make recommendations on how to overcome them. The thesis reviews the theoretical framework of poverty within the discourse of development studies. Contrary to the conventional economic definition of poverty, poor people in Msambweni view it as a multidimensional concept. The understanding of the concept of poverty as perceived by the ‘poor’ themselves is critical for addressing barriers to their participation in the tourism development process and in designing meaningful tourism-led anti-poverty strategies. The thesis also reviews other relevant tourism concepts and development paradigms. The central argument of this thesis is that the current model of tourism development in Msambweni is not suitable for addressing poverty. The study identifies barriers to local people’s participation in tourism development in Msambweni. Key barriers include weak capacity in the context of physical, human, financial and institutional capital; corruption; poverty; lack of information; weak linkages with the local economy attributable to the lack of access to tourist markets; and the inability to develop and promote the ‘right’ types of tourism. Ecotourism, volunteer tourism and ‘philanthropy tourism’, although practiced on a small scale, are the most preferred types of tourism by local people. Philanthropy tourism, an emergent term of this study, involves tourists visiting local attractions, villages, and schools and making donations to support various projects. The study concludes that for tourism to have meaningful contribution to poverty reduction, barriers that limit local people’s participation must be addressed. There is also the need for a paradigm shift to embrace policies that facilitate the transfer of economic benefits from the macro-level towards the poor at the micro-level, combined with the development and promotion of the ‘right’ types of tourism as identified by local people.

This thesis explores a relatively new and arguably innovative United States (US) international development initiative called the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), which was launched by President Bush in 2004 as his flagship development programme for combating global poverty. Inciting transformational change, both in the delivery of aid and within the recipient countries themselves, lies at the heart of the MCA, which is housed in a new development entity named the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). In-depth semistructured interviews were utilised to facilitate the accumulation of rich and varied data, through which the rhetoric and discourses surrounding the MCA could be' challenged, contested and debated at a variety oflevels. This study critically engages with the MCA to reveal its core motivations and ideological underpinnings, through which we can better understand its origins and potential to deliver sustainable development in the South. In order to do this, specific attention is given to Nicaragua's involvement in the initiative; a country which has played host to a plethora of US foreign policy activities, actions and interventions over the years. An exhaustive exploration of Nicaragua's experience of the MCA is subsequently utilised as a platform for engaging with the core debates and issues surrounding the MCA and development discourse more broadly. In particular, the study's findings critically question the neoliberal model of development being promoted through the MCA and challenge the programme's ability to address the complexities of impoverishment. Part and parcel of this process involves examining the seemingly inseparable marriage between 'democracy' and market liberalisation in development, through which it is argued in this thesis that transnationalliberalism has been extended as the hegemonic ideology of this epoch and a polyarchic system of rule promoted across much of the South.

The goal of this research is to establish a link between investments in information and communication technology (ICT) and economic growth in the context of countries that are currently classified by the international community as transitional economies (TE). More specifically, in this study we focus on the relationship between ICT and one of the determinants of economic growth, total factor productivity (TFP). Neoclassical growth accounting and the theory of complementarity provide the theoretical framework on which we build this research. By combining the data obtained from two sources, the World Bank Database and the IT Yearbook, we were able to construct a 10-year data set for 18 TEs spanning the period from 1993 to 2002.Our inquiry is structured as a seven-step process that utilizes six data analytic methods. The first step in our investigation involves Cluster analysis (CA) with the purpose of determining whether or not the selected set of TEs is homogenous. Use of CA allowed us to identify two distinct groups of TEs in our sample, which suggests the heterogeneity of the sample.In the second part of our inquiry, we employ Decision Tree (DT) analysis with the goal of investigating the differences between the clusters of TEs that were generated by the CA in the previous step. We were able to determine that one of the groups of TEs, the "leaders," appears to be wealthier than the other group, the "majority."In the next step of our investigation, we perform Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to determine the efficiency of the TEs in our set. We were able to determine that the "leaders" are more efficient than the "majority" not only in terms of the production of the output, but also in terms of the utilization of the inputs.The fourth part of our investigation takes advantage of the DT analysis with the purpose of obtaining the insights into the nature of the differences between the efficient and inefficient TEs. By incorporating the results of the CA into DT analysis we were able to construct the model that suggests, with the high degree of precision, some of the criteria according to which the efficient TEs differ from the inefficient ones.The fifth stage of our investigation involves the use of the Translog regression model for the purpose of determining whether or not there exists a set of investments that are complementary to the investments in ICT. We have determined that there exists a statistically significant interaction effect between the investments in ICT and other variables, representing state of labor, as well as capital investments.The sixth part of our investigation relies on using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) implemented with Partial Least Squares(PLS)to test for the presence of the relationship between the investments in ICT and the unexplained part of the macroeconomic growth, TFP. We were able to establish the presence of the relationship between the two constructs of our conceptual model, "ICT Capitalization" and "TFP" for the "leaders" group of our sample. The construct "ICT Capitalization" was represented by the three ratio measures, all of which contain variable "Annual investment in telecom" in the denominator, while the Malmquist Index and its components, TC and EC., represented the construct "TFP." Thus, it allows us to state that we have established the presence of the relationship between the investments in ICT and TFP.The last step of the data analysis involves using Classification DT and Neural Network (NN) analyses with the aim of investigating the reasons why some of the TEs exhibit statistically significant relationship between the investments in ICT and TFP, while other TEs do not. We were able to determine that one of the reasons why the "leaders" exhibit the statistically significant relationship between the investments in ICT and TFP is that they have higher level of inputs and more efficient processes of converting the inputs into the outputs than the "majority."