Abstract
Over the long run, sustained growth is central to poverty reduction. The rapid growth seen in much of the world over the past few decades — notably, but not only, in China and India — has led to an unprecedented reduction in poverty. And, in general, increases in per capita income tend to translate into proportionate increases in income of the poor. As Dollar and Kraay (2002) memorably put it, “Growth Is Good for the Poor.” All the more reason, then, to place sustainability of growth at the center of any poverty reduction strategy.
This paper draws on joint work with Andy Berg and Haris Tsangarides, in particular Berg and Ostry (2011) and Ostry, Berg, and Tsangarides (2014). Views are those of the author, and should not be attributed to the IMF. The author is grateful to Kaushik Basu, Olivier Blanchard, François Bourguignon, James Galbraith, Martin Ravallion, Joe Stiglitz, and seminar participants at the International Economic Association conference, Dead Sea, Jordan for helpful comments.
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Ostry, J.D., Bourguignon, F. (2016). Inequality and the Fragility of Growth. In: Basu, K., Stiglitz, J.E. (eds) Inequality and Growth: Patterns and Policy. International Economics Association. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137554598_4
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