Urban Poverty and Violence in Jamaica
Urban Poverty and Violence in Jamaica

Author: Caroline O. N. Moser

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1997-01-01

Total Pages: 60

ISBN-13: 9780821338704

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This report conducts a comprehensive analysis of India's stabilization and reform program over the past five years, describing a successful transition from central planning to a more open and deregulated economy. In addition to the progress the country has made, the report cites challenges to future growth and points to areas of priority action, such as improving urban services and investing in human capital. The report addresses specific topics, including (i) fiscal consolidation and debt dynamics; (ii) public expenditure and tax reforms; (iii) money and bond markets; (iv) contractual savings institutions; (v) agricultural trade liberalization and rural development; (vi) investing in private infrastructure; and (vii) the external environment and India's export competitiveness.

Analyzing Urban Poverty
Analyzing Urban Poverty

Author: Judy Baker

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13:

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"In recent years an extensive body of literature has emerged on the definition, measurement, and analysis of poverty. Much of this literature focuses on analyzing poverty at the national level, or spatial disaggregation by general categories of urban or rural areas, with adjustments made for regional price differentials. Yet for an individual city attempting to tackle the problems of urban poverty, this level of aggregation is not sufficient for answering specific questions such as where the poor are located in the city, whether there are differences between poor areas, if access to services varies by subgroup, whether specific programs are reaching the poorest, and how to design effective poverty reduction programs and policies. Answering these questions is critical, particularly for large, sprawling cities with highly diverse populations and growing problems of urban poverty. Understanding urban poverty presents a set of issues distinct from general poverty analysis and thus may require additional tools and techniques. Baker and Schuler summarize the main issues in conducting urban poverty analysis, with a focus on presenting a sample of case studies from urban areas that were implemented by a number of different agencies using a range of analytical approaches for studying urban poverty. Specific conclusions regarding design and analysis, data, timing, cost, and implementation issues are discussed. This paper-a product of the Urban Unit, Transport and Urban Development Department-is part of a larger effort in the department to promote strategies for reducing urban poverty"--World Bank web site.

The Urban Poor in Latin America
The Urban Poor in Latin America

Author: Marianne Fay

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 9780821360699

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About half of the region's poor live in cities, and policy makers across Latin America are increasingly interested in policy advice on how to design programmes and policies to tackle poverty. This publication argues that the causes of poverty, the nature of deprivation, and the policy levers to fight poverty are, to a large extent, site specific. It therefore focuses on strategies to assist the urban poor in making the most of the opportunities offered by cities, such as larger labour markets and better services, while helping them cope with the negative aspects, such as higher housing costs, pollution, risk of crime and less social capital.

Urban Poor Perceptions of Violence and Exclusion in Colombia
Urban Poor Perceptions of Violence and Exclusion in Colombia

Author: Caroline O. N. Moser

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2000-01-01

Total Pages: 140

ISBN-13: 9780821347317

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The crisis in Columbia represents a challenge to the economy, the institutions and the values of its society. Columbia remains plagued by violence despite sustained improvements in its social and economic indicators. The perception of this violence by people living in poor communities is the subject of this report. Local communities identified the pervasive nature of political violence, the problem of displaced persons, and the lack of employment that leads to drug use, crime and violence. Suggested approaches were to create job opportunities; attack the problem of drug use; reduce society's tolerance for intrahousehold violence; rebuild trust in the police and judicial system; strengthen community-based organisations, particularly those run by women; target interventions at young people.

Poverty Reduction and Human Development in the Caribbean
Poverty Reduction and Human Development in the Caribbean

Author: Judy L. Baker

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1997-01-01

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 9780821339701

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World Bank Discussion Paper No. 366.Despite impressive success in improving living conditions in many Caribbean countries, poverty still persists throughout the region. This study seeks to improve our understanding of poverty in the Caribbean and the current efforts to address it. It analyzes the causes and characteristics of poverty in 15 Caribbean countries and reviews the experiences with the poverty and alleviation efforts that countries have pursued. Prepared for the 1996 meeting of the Caribbean Group for Cooperation in Economic Development, this report provides recommendations on how macroeconomic and social policies can be further oriented to reduce poverty and promote human resource development.

Ordinary Families, Extraordinary Lives
Ordinary Families, Extraordinary Lives

Author: Caroline O.N. Moser

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2010-04-01

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 0815704208

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Fifty years after Oscar Lewis's famous depiction of five Mexican families caught in a "culture of poverty," Caroline Moser tells a very different story of five neighborhood women and their families strategically accumulating assets to escape poverty in the Ecuadoran city of Guayaquil. In Ordinary Families, Extraordinary Lives, Moser shows how a more sophisticated understanding of the complexities of asset accumulation as well as poverty itself can help counter inaccurate stereotypes about global poverty. It provides invaluable insight into strategies that may help people in developing countries improve their wellbeing. The similar socioeconomic characteristics and economic circumstances of the Guayaquil families in 1978, when Moser began her research, set the stage for a natural experiment. By 2004, these circumstances varied widely. Moser captures the causes and consequences of these developments through economic data, anthropological narrative, and personal photos. She then places this compelling story within the broader context of political, economic, and spatial changes in Guayaquil and Ecuador. Moser describes how households in a Third World urban slum relentlessly and systematically fought to accumulate human, social, and financial capital assets. Her longitudinal account of their odyssey captures long-term trends and changes in perception that are missed in snapshot assessments. Chapters in this holistic story cover diverse issues such as housing and infrastructure, community mobilization and political negotiation, employment, family dynamics, violence, and emigration.

Urban Governance Voice and Poverty in the Developing World
Urban Governance Voice and Poverty in the Developing World

Author: Nick Devas

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-10-14

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 1136549293

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Poverty and governance are both issues high on the agenda of international agencies and governments in the South. With urban areas accounting for a steadily growing share of the world's poor people, an international team of researchers focused their attention on the hitherto little-studied relationship between urban governance and urban poverty. In their timely and in-depth examination of ten cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, they demonstrate that in many countries the global trends towards decentralization and democratization offer new opportunities for the poor to have an influence on the decisions that affect them. They also show how that influence depends on the nature of those democratic arrangements and decision-making processes at the local level, as well as on the ability of the poor to organize. The study involved interviews with key actors within and outside city governments, discussions with poverty groups, community organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as analyses of data on poverty, services and finance. This book presents insights, conclusions and practical examples that are of relevance for other cities. It outlines policy implications for national and local governments, NGOs and donor agencies, and highlights ways in which poor people can use their voice to influence the various institutions of city governance.

Urban Livelihoods
Urban Livelihoods

Author: Carole Rakodi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-10-14

Total Pages: 330

ISBN-13: 1136548467

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One of the most promising approaches to poverty reduction in developing countries is to encourage sustainable livelihoods for the poor. This takes account of their opportunities and assets and the sources of their vulnerability. Based on recent and extensive research, this volume thoroughly assesses the value of the livelihoods approach to urban poverty. The book reviews the situation and strategies of the urban poor and identifies the policies and practical programmes that work best. Lasting improvements depend not just on economic development, but on political commitment and structures that are responsive to the claims and needs of different groups of poor people.