Growth and poverty reduction: Read and reflect

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Economic growth and poverty reduction (Dan Banik)

Related readings:

If you are interested in finding out more about poverty reduction, Prof. Banik suggests the following:

• Banik, D. and Hansen, A. (2016) "The frontiers of poverty reduction in emerging Asia”, Forum for Development Studies 43(1). 
• Li, X. & Banik, D. (2013) “The Pursuit of Inclusive Development in China: From Developmental to Rights-Based Social Protection”, Indian Journal of Human Development 7(1).
• Ravallion, M. (2009) “Are there Lessons for Africa from China’s Success against Poverty?” World Development 37(2).
• Diaz-Cayeros, A. & Magaloni, B. (2009) “Aiding Latin America’s Poor”, Journal of Democracy 20(4).

If you have time, you may also consider reading selected chapters from Prof. Banik’s open access book: Poverty and Elusive Development, Oslo, Scandinavian University Press.

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• What lessons do the Asian successes hold for other parts of the world? Should countries on the African continent try to emulate China or India? If so, why?

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Income inequality in Latin America (Benedicte Bull)

Related readings:

If you are interested in learning more about how Latin American countries were able to combat income inequality, Prof. Bull recommends the following open access articles:

• Bull, B. (2019) "Combating Inequality: Is There a “Scandinavian Way” to Reduce Inequality in Latin America?", Iberoamericana.
• Cornia, G. A. (2012) “Inequality trends and their determinants Latin America over 1990-2010”, UNU-Wider Working Paper.
• Cord, L. et al. (2014) “Inequality stagnation in Latin America in the aftermath of the global financial crisis”, Poverty and Equity Global Practice Working Paper.

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• In the past few years, the phrase “inequality” has been increasingly highlighted by the media. Please discuss a recent encounter you have had with the term “inequality”. Did you read about it in a newspaper, magazine or book? Did you hear about it on the radio or television? Did the phrase come up in a local, national, or international context? What did you think about the idea of inequality?

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What works in reducing income inequality? (Alice Evans)

Related readings:

To learn more about some of the issues raised in Dr. Evans' talk you may check out the following resources:

• Evans, A. (2018) "Politicizing inequality: The power of ideas", World Development: 110.
• Evans, A. (2017) "How Latin America bucked the trend of rising inequality", The Conversation.

On YouTube, you can also see a longer lecture by Dr. Evans on Politicizing inequality: The power of ideas (DEC lecture at the World Bank)

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• What can Asia, including countries like China and India, learn from the Latin American experience?

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Major drivers of poverty reduction in China (Li Xiaoyun)

Related readings:

• "China's experience offers successful model for global poverty reduction", Sept. 2019, China Daily.

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• How and to what extent can the Chinese approach to poverty reduction be replicated elsewhere in the world?

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TVEs and poverty reduction in China (Tang Lixia)

Related readings:

If you are interested in learning more about TVEs, Prof. Tang suggests the following resources:

• Chang, C. and Wang, Y (1994) “The Nature of the Township-Village Enterprise”, Journal of Comparative Economics 19(3).  (Access requires log-in)
• Oi, J (1992) “Fiscal Reform and the Economic Foundations of Local State Corporatism in China”, World Politics 45(1).  (Access requires log-in)

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• The cooperative Township and Village Enterprises (TVEs) in China were locally-driven, with property and profits held in common for the benefit of the community. Please reflect on the role of community enterprises, such as TVEs, in development. Consider the following questions:

  • How do they differ from private companies? How do they differ from state-owned enterprises?
  • What role do you see for this kind of enterprise in the modern, market-driven world? Can TVEs compete with private firms?
  • What are the benefits of maintaining these types of institutional structures? What are the costs?
  • Do you see any similar types of institutions still in use today, whether in other sectors or other countries?

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Social transfers also work in Africa (Blessings Chinsinga)

Related readings:

The What Works Team suggests the following readings for students interested in these topics:

• FAO, WFP and IFAD (2012) "Social protection for the poor and vulnerable: A foundation for reducing hunger and malnutrition", in The state of food insecurity in the world 2012, FAO.
• Bastagli, F. et al. (2016) "Cash transfers: What does the evidence say? A rigourous review of programme impact and of the role of design and implementation features", ODI.

You can also check out The Transfer Project. This research group is specifically studying what works and what does not in social transfer programs.

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• Please comment on the role of social transfers and the various myths about why they don’t work or why they are not suitable for southern Africa. Did you learn anything new about social transfers through the lecture by Prof. Chinsinga? Would you support their use as a development tool? Please explain why or why not.

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Crop research and development (Ola Westengen)

Related readings:

If you are interested in learning more about crop improvement and the Green Revolution, Ola Westengen suggests the following articles, which were cited in the video:

• Evenson, R. E. and Gollin, D. (2003) “Assessing the Impact of the Green Revolution, 1960 to 2000”, Science. (Access requires log-in)
• Pingali, P (2012) “Green Revolution: Impacts, limits, and the path ahead”, PNAS, 109.
• Denning et al. (2009) “Input Subsidies to Improve Smallholder Maize Productivity in Malawi: Toward an African Green Revolution”, PLOS Biology.

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• How should countries in Africa reform their agricultural sector? 
• What should countries do to minimize the adverse environmental impacts of food production?

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From famine to food self-sufficiency in Africa (Blessings Chinsinga)

Related readings:

If you are interested in learning more about FISP and Malawi’s agricultural programs, Prof. Chinsinga recommends the following open access book:

• Chirwa, E. and Dorward, A (2013) Agricultural Input Subsidies: The Recent Malawi Experience, Oxford University Press.
  • You may wish to pay particular attention to “Part II. Implementation and Impacts of the Malawi Programme”
    • FISP activities and achievements, p. 87
    • Direct impacts of input subsidies, p. 124
    • Economy-wide effects of input subsidies, p. 143
    • Impacts on input market development, p. 167
  • If you are interested in learning about other kinds of agricultural input subsidy programs, consult the following:
    • Recent African experience with input subsidies, p. 46

Reflection:

Continue the conversation on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Please use the hashtag #WhatWorksUiO if you wish to respond to or reflect on any of the issues raised in the lectures.

• While the story of Malawi’s food security was widely considered a success by the development community, it is important to remember that gains can be reversed. Only a few years after the period analyzed in this lesson, the food situation in Malawi is less rosy than before, due to a combination of macroeconomic instability, lack of rainfall, global food price volatility (affecting Malawi’s poor) - and problems of governance.
• Please read the following short articles, and then comment on the situation.
  • Africa Renewal (2013): What went wrong? Lessons from Malawi’s food crisis.
  • The Guardian (2016): ‘I was so hungry I ate water lilies’: southern Africa’s food crisis in a dozen dishes.
  • Malawi24 (2016): Malawi food crisis: Govt launches hunger response program in Phalombe.