Replying to LO30122 & Chris Macrae,
I think probably the most evenhanded source to respond to your question
is the United Nations Development Program series on Human Development
Indicators. UNDP compiles data on a number of measures of well-being in
three broad categories: a long and healthy life, levels of
education/knowledge, and a decent standard of living. They combine country
scores on these criteria into a composite "Human Development Index," and
have data on more than 170 countries since 1975. By looking at the trends
in the indices, it is possible to see which countries are doing better or
worse -- and there is definitely some of each. The first URL below is the
general portal into the UNDP HDI site; the second shows trend data for 173
countries' HDI values. The HDI reports also have data on the % of each
country's population that subsists on less than $1 and $2 per capita.
HDI general portal:
http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2002/en/indicator/indicator.cfm?File=index_indicators.html
Country trends in HD index standings:
http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2002/en/indicator/pdf/hdr_2002_table_2.pdf
[Host's Note: You will probable have to unwrap the URLs above. The UN
Human Development Reports are very interesting reading! ..Rick]
In terms of the indices generally, and povery indices in particular, it
will come as no surprise to find that some countries are doing better and
some countries are doing worse. It would take a lifetime to answer your
questions about what are the big poverty variables & causes -- if you want
to educate yourself on this, you could do worse than to start by looking
at the UNDP general website. There are thousands of books and theories,
and each carries its own ideology. Personally, I am not persuaded by
those who believe globalization and the spread of free-market capitalism
is the grand solution to humanity's ills. It is true that in some
countries, unfettered capitalism seems to be creating jobs and improving
the availability and quality of goods and services. But it also seems
true that inequality -- both in terms of income and wealth, and access to
power to determine the rules of the global game -- is increasing globally.
Capitalism's friends shrug this off as mere coincidence or a historical
blip, while others believe this to be embedded in the very nature of the
system. One of the better known skeptics in the latter camp is Joseph
Stiglitz (see his book Globalization and its Discontents) -- but if you
were to line up all the people on either side of this debate, they will
fill up an awfully long see-saw...
Hope this is useful.
Regards,
Anne Acosta
Coordinator, Strategic Planning, International Maize & Wheat Improvement
Center (CIMMYT ° http://www.cimmyt.org) and
Ph.D. student, Fielding Graduate Institute
--"Acosta, Anne (CIMMYT)" <A.ACOSTA@CGIAR.ORG>
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