reversing the dowward spiral
TRANSCRIPT
-
Reversing the Dowward Spiral
Poverty and the Environment: Reversing the Downward Spiral
Alan B. Durning
Worldwatch Paper 92 Novmher 19R9
Srrtknu o( lhls ppt lruy k
t k al Ihr Wdduacrh IMttuh and in di-. or ruff. a d h m d t n l ( orpaniutms.
Intn~duct~on ............. ..... ......................................................... 5
..................................................................... And the Paw Ca Pmnr 7
The Global Povwy Trap ...................... ... ................................... 24
Poverty and the Environment ........ ....... .................................. 40
.......................................................... Rwersing the hwnward Spiral 54
................ ................................................................................. Notes :. 69
u ntil the lions have their historia-," d w l a m an African emverb, "tales of huntln will always glorify the hunter.''
kcwise, the historian. oft he world's lorturute chscthosc billion-odd peopfe who Inhabit Industrial lands-hrve
already tbrled the twentieth century an era deconomk mincln.
The history of ;he weslthy is impressive. $rice 1900. the value of goods and mvicps pnxluccd each year worQwidc has p w n twm- tyfold, the us# of ene y thirtyfold, the products of industry fifty- fold, a d the avera e?mtance hvelcd by well-tad0 pthrp r thousandfold. As tk century,en~,m its fi&ecade, commonem of the world's alfluent nation, live lake the alty of ymferyerr, and e l l s literati live Like god-ing &b on thc winds and ~dingt~roaceeofnaturetot~rwl l t2 ;
&pb~hwhilcthcwaLI'rpdantUamiPlonpmpk.nrouad+r- R a v b W t h y ~ l i l r c l y t o ~ ~ g a r w ( h , ~ n t . r d . t b h or dutk. 151 water from r ria& swing in France u battled rad
6 thr world's netton states devoted I1 tnlll~~n-
the IS ' r child it would have cost to eradicatghe simple diseases that ki& 11 million that yeas4
Dentitution in the modern world is perphmtedby a set of mutually dnh,rrin factors at the loul, national. and intcnutionrl kwbthat form r I& tra . Locally p people's Lck d productive -, $Ir & ~ w m $ n e s , su&ti&iity a i l k , and gow7- lcssnetis comh~ne wtth rapid population p.mwth to keep t em In straitened rin-umst.ncrs. kJr tw~l ly , gove'kent policicb In many m?on k v w the urbrn fortunrk over the rural m- And at the inkmrtbnal level, interlorking pnttrnn of debt, bade. and opital flicht during the eighties have made the rich richer and the rroor
In m t times. mo~over, hrs become m hmmhgly mvi- r'wmmtl,, L3tmwmm=md"mk*k
saroiagnrp*
The entire +net is at risk 4s thin whi r lpo l nrponds, garing
"Economic &privation md mvimunmtrl dcy&tioa dnlom OM rnotkn lo
form r mnlstroo-r downward sphl. '
stronger rs it f w d 9 on itself. Yet. them am n;pcdr for break- ing up the downward spiral. I'tmr people Cd&cd hundrdr of thousands of grassmotsorganizationu to hd themselver rin what official development programs have f a i l d l o provide. f n d thew 7 organizations. in somc'ca& work~ng wclh mliRhtrnd gi)vemmcnts and ~ntcrnational a~cnries, have found worn of innovative wava to
vGy trap But ultimate s u a m de nda an tuhin rzsx: t,hr'uP"brKinning; into a f u l l - l k d p m%izalion to mf poverty.$hat, in turn, r a t s with the worl x pvernmentr and the affluent.
And the Boor Get Poom
In 1978. R&rt McNamara, tben presidrnlnf the World b n k , gave what stands as the clas~ic dncrlpiion of abaolute poverty: "A G d i - tion of life so linuld by nulnulnl~on, iU i t ey , dwase, squalid sur- roundings, high infant mortality, and low11 eerpcctrncy as to be beneath any reasonable definition of human decency.-( A, McNamara's words supnest. wvertv 1s farmorr than an cconomu "" . , condition.
Althoueh bpditionallv measured in tcma rd inmmc, l~ lv t r tv 's tmt horror,& revealed 6 what poor ~ l e , s t r i v e moot & i t & ~ l l ~ to m a p , extends into all o In ivldurl lik: susqtiMlily to
amtd wa PSOWW, su&dinatia\ to w n r l and cta~mic -.-- mnty m the face of chang~ng b a d d c n L r d U n a L n r e tircurmtmar. Flowin fmm thnc physical dimensions, poverty's psychological toh Ir rqurlly lonrr--thccrwdDn d human dignity& edf-mqect*
Dcwribed in numberr. wvertv wemr horrible on@&, but thr
Two of my bmthrndwd In thr plantation f m l . hr w a ~ the rldclt, wa. called Fcl ip They'd ~ ~ 3 r d the colfrr with y t i c i d e by planr while we wtr u w r i y dbd, and my brother couldn't stan dkd. . . . Thr wcond one. . . his name w h c n I w . r d h 1 H e w a t w o t h . r r started cry% ' .;iyin rryin my w h t to do.. . ~ l r s k d ~ ~ 4s The little h v d i d rarlv In the mornin=. ~ . b d i d n ' t know what to d o 6 u r two netahborn were &%tow to help mv motkt but they ddn' t know what to do rith+not how lo bu hlm or rn. h1n8 l?m the ov- W Iry mothr she
her in the +nution but &&had to pry a mu% bury my& tax lo kcc him buried then . My mother mid, "I hive no - r t r 7 1 . " ~ c t ~ h . r : ~ m . a ~ y a r a 1 o w c a ~ d many kw medic ine id otherthin so U%is Wr and *m. . . ~ t w m i m ~ C o t r k . r i T b o d y ~ t o t ~ e ~ ~ - bnds . . . . S o m v m h n M c d t h t . n n e i f * i h c M & for r month wlthout ranring, rh r would pay the tax to the Lndowm. or the -, b b u r y my bmtkr in the plan* bon. . . Onr el the men h h t a littlr box. r blt like i -1- urc. We put my bmther in l t i nd took him to be buried. . . fhtn i$ l t lheommMldu. : .LNvchso~."
Cui temal r , like the mt i;f the poor, Ille is r &rueling trial. Days M his own death. a hnn laborer in Bangladesh summed it up thisway: ~IfnmoNrudthepestk.thcd\lUiannotbst. W c ~ u r U t r ~ l l ~ v a r w a r r c m w d d D w e a n d &
To answer the question of how many people live in poverty, emnomists deli& a poverty line b calclililng.tk income in cash or hnd a family rmuim to meet ite&sic d r dther solely fur food. n or for food,'clothing, and shelter. ldeall% ~ovetnments'crrry out 7 household aurveysor c e n r u w to deteraine what p e ~ r n t i ~ e of their woo* b v e incomes blow t h t thmhold. Unfortunatdv. the
arbitrary M u s e it mcuuror p&my m a d by tl@ variety of poverty l inn true housc to -hou~e monitoring.
A h l u t e povertv, dcscribcd so coaentlv k Rakrt McNamara, has many de f ik t ipkb Lhi p a p , it &fi t& lack d suHUmt income indorLrindtomecttkmatksich~lm6fafmd,doth- ina. and M R . The rbsdute mvatv inco*c thmhdd v h widelv &ween $50 and SWKf per ~ e b d e n d i n 'on wch things rr pric&, scresr to s u b u s t ~ avail& d public lervica
In the early ei hties, World Bank and U.N. Food a d A~ricul tun ~ r g a n l u t l o n ~FAO) estimrtes of the nu* of peo k llvin in r b ~ u t e peaty ranged between 700 m i p and 1 di. In 1 b, moot indtcators suraeu that poverty has c n u e d dramtia l lv in sub-Saharan Africrand b d n Arn&ica,u well as parts of A h , swrm~inc Lmncwive reductions in chi^ and India. Abwu d M d<dnY& t h ~ h , trackin$ the mum ef povmty mqulna infer- ace from hadr mavnrlp ~mma, w y n p*cr, wnnploymcnt rates, a d he&h indiatonton9
Perhaps the k t way lo uulyze iacomc per person or averr i n a a w w u d c v c b p a ( b y ~ S u m n m m ~ ~ ~ d t & U n i d t v of Pcnnrvlvrn*. Thev wed r data- amurbh two
Hrwd or1 th191r ddta, ,~vi*ra):e Incomr per lwr46n w ( l r l d \ v l d ~ has d\>uhlrd to $7,700 \lnciL 1950, but the Ir tnts 4 global eroni'mlr grtrwth have almo<t ,111 ):on<. to thc Ic~rtundtr (;mupin): thv w~)rld 's natll)n\ Into four clacsc,* hascd o n thcb~r 19H5 c r c.lprta Incomc b r r n g ~ the di%lldrlll~'. I ~ I ~ I %harp Iniu\ (Scr F g u r c 1 1" Wadlthv nations, ~ni.ludln): tho\i* In Europc , ~ n d North Amrrlca, almclit t r~pl i .J t h c ~ r pier ~ d i w t d Irrcnmr.+ over t h r l a k t 40 vear3 Mlddlr- Iniomc* cvun t r~ r* . such a\ Hrafll, Mr\rc(t. . ~ n d Turkry, more than di~uhlc%l lhrlrk h - l i ~ n . ht-ginn~n): a p r r c d v i stagnnl~on ln 1YHO. I'nor natlivt\. ~ n i l u d ~ n ) : C'hlnn. Egypt, dnd thc I ' h ~ l ~ p p ~ n t ~ , rrpvrirnirbd s n m r rlscb, hut the per person tn romc of the oore\ t roun t r t e \ . lncludln much of thv Ind~an s u h c o n t ~ n ~ ~ n t and Rtrrr,i, h,i< r ema~nid ,-tfrctlrt*fy l~.vcl s inw mld-wntur\.
Thr* world's economrc classes, lur thrrmi~re, a w not ot cqual s l rc . rathcr, afflurncc la tlic p r l \ - ~ l e ~ e of a snidll m~nority. E ~ m r hO pcrcunt c~t thi, wurld's wple I~ve In ctruntr~i l whew annual rntomr pcr per- w n ts hrlcr\v 85XNl. Ohlv 5 percent of the world'r p p l e Ilve In the top *tratum, must (li th& In the U n ~ t t d Statc5 (kr Figurc 2 ) I ?
Wide 31 thc g a p hvtwcun the world's rlch and pnor appears when measured in avera I. incomr the n v l sltuahon is worse. Auerage:t.s iiisgui?*> the gross Blsparitln,in t n c c ~ m ~ d~s t r ihu t~on that character- tze the majnrity ol ccruntnrj. Betwivn 60 and 70 percent of the pm. ple in most rtrun1ric.j earn less than their nation's average Income. Almost nowhew d o t s the p n m t fifth of households collect even 10 percrnt 171 nat iunal income. whi l e the riche3t fifth commonly m r v n half. (Sre Tabie 1 .)" .v
Among the wor lds most knrs nations, China, the Soviet Union, and la an all have r e l a t i r e q u i t a b l e income distributions, with the riclest fifth of hrseholJ in the nation receiving between 3 a i d 4 times as much per ear as the poorest fifth. Indones~a, Egypt, and India fall in the m i d d e of the ianse, with the rich earnin 8-10 times a$ much a s the p r . Mexiro is worse, with a fador of I f separatin top and M o m . while in Brazil members of the richest f ihh earn 4 times a s much a s members of the pooroat fihh.
l4W 1955 IMI l%5 1Y70 1975 lW! l W IWl
Figure 1: Adjusted Income per Penon, Four Economic Classes of Nations, 1950-88
The world as a whole is probably lrrs rqurtable than any natton. T h fifth of humanity l r v i n ~ i n therlche5t counlrirb have average mcomes l5l1mrs hi hert n the frhh 11v1n In the p e s t . Were wl- Iicient data availafle to group the worh ' s people by their true incomes rather than thtlr natlon's average incomes, t k h c h t fifth might be found to earn 30 ur 40 t i m e what the poem do.
Data on inconvdirlribution and averace imme can be combined to
Fi~ure 2: World's Population, Cmupd by Adjusted per Capiia income in 1980 U.S. Dollam, 15W
help reveal the extent of poverty. Table Z ranks countries by theavw- age ~ncome of the poorest 40 p w n t of their citizens. The p o o h y be fairly wvll off e ~ v n when average income is low, or wffer greatly when average income is hi h In 19R5, for example, Egypt's per rrpitr income was about ha l f2 Peru's, but because Egy is more equitable, poor Eg ptianp earned one-third more g n poor Pentvians. ~ikewisw. krazil's averape income ww hvin Sri hnIrs's, but the Sri h n h n poor ~ n w d more than the Bruiliin poor.14
In terms of economic security, what different classes own is as important as what they earn. Although reliable information is
Table 1: Approximalt intomt Distribution of Moct Poruloua Natlons, and of World, Most Recent Available Year'
M Pmrn l of M Pmenl of Rlrhrrl Shrrr Country Year Households Houlcholdx IoPamrtShrn ----- - - - . , -. .. ... , . .
Table 1: Adjusted Income per Capita, and l n q m e per Capita of Poorest 00 Percent of Populalion, Selrrtqd Countries, 1985
14 Incohe per Capita
Country Income per Capita of Poorest 40 Percent ..
h4al.1~1 3SlI Kenya MXI M,>Jayw.lr %u) CAtc I\*o~n q?n
Braril 3280 Sn Lnnh 1.540 h i l a n d 1.900 CtMa Ricn 2,650
Malavs~a 3.420 %O Mrk~t-u 3,990 W South Korra 3,M 1,m China (citi~s) 2.440 1,710 .. excedinglv scam, the disparit in distribution of wealth appears to be wider than thedispnritv in Kistribution of income. n e situation in lndu is robrblv ~pm&tative d developing counmies g m a l - Iv there. t k rach&t tenth of houschoids receive income worth 25 times as much as the Doom! tenth of households. but own assets
'Many countrlra a n nn l o n p r w, much drvrloplnf,
as dinintr~rr t in&.
For the p w r of Africa, I.al~n A m t - r ~ ~ , ~ , afrd part* ctl A*IJ, I h i ~ i . ~ g h t ~ c ~ have been a time of crut-l rvvrr\~l\, d Vritd wht-n thr glohdl t2ronw my *wmed toron,pirt.agd~nht thrm g n t ,yl(~l thc runaway P(I~UI,I . I I C ' ~ grtnvth and acct4urating cnv~ronment . l l dc., 11nc.ih.11 wcrim 15 alrcadv d r a g g ~ n g down I1vi11g standard\ airtrw the 7h1rJ World, prlccs for px) r nat~ons' rxpnrts have plummrtcd. and tntrrnatitm.il drht h.15 51phonl.d a grc)wlng +harts III thi-tr instlmt. 111tct thc* h+ndc 1 1 1
Iorc~gn fin,~ncirrs The ~ K W . In eh~rrt, h , i v e c . ~ r n ~ J Itere, and ctln\c. qut~ntl" eaten It-s, but t ley havt. p a d r v v r mirrr.
51ncc 1'450, thegap hetwwn rich dnd poor natlcina grown n r~~r t ly hrcausc the r ~ c h got richer Rut, s ln tc IVWO. 111 mdny d rvc lo 111 countritl the poor hdvr btvn wtting Fnmrer ttxl M1rre than 40 ' R l r i World natlt,ns w ~ l l prohahlv fwirh the dcvadr pcn1rt.r. In per C J ~ I ~ J
tc.rmh, than they s t a r t ed ~ t . l 'hc I4 rnoct d~ l ' dc l~ l t ( ' d L I I U I I .
trin-includ~ng Zamb~e, &)hvia, and N~grda-hdvc uvn per capita income lummet as dractically since their tniuhlc? k g a n as did the United &atcsddu"g th; Great Ikpressi~,n. Indtuzf. the trsrm dravt-l- opin nation has become a travesty. manv rvuntrirs are no lonsrr u) muck developing as disintegrating.lh
The human impact of this detadc 's etonomlr back4ide In Africa, Latin Amerlca, and parts of Asia has been ino our Malnutrition is documented t o b e o n the rise In Burma, B u r u n d ~ , the C;amh~a, Guinea-Bissau,Jamaica, Ni er, N~geria , Pa ra~uay , the I ' h i l ~ p p ~ n n , Nicaragua, EI ~ a l v a d o r , an$ P ~ N , and IS undrrubtrdly increasing elsewhere a s well, particularly among societie.i' least fnrtunatc. members. T h e World Bank reports that f rom 1979 t o 1983, life
"P ancy fell in nirw African countrita, and more thdn 1W) million A cansare thought to lacksufficient food to sustain thembelve.17
Poverty's most savage toll is measured in the lives of children. In Zambia, twice a s many children died f m m malnutril~on in 1984 8% in 1W. The infant mo&lity rate in Brazil me in 19R3 and 1984 for the first time in dead-nd rose mas( steeply in the poorest q#m. Simi la r t r end$ a r e a f w t in m u c h of t h e Th i rd World, l t r d i n 1 INICFF, t1.o IJnited NarimsCl~ildrm'e Fund, to conclude in 1Ee 1 4
-man Awns 10 uo-a UP 'uoqs u ! -Wod a i m pus 'h!lw~'drmn jo q a * ~ . . . '~uadqduraun S u u m q a q a k ~ 8y -rwutnl ae?~!~w s ! ~ pu~qaq I ~ I q l e a w o,uw@r~11 qmlo q Q iOU f w p 11 '089 SlpaA 02 SPM I! t q M 01 r(3Pq padd!ls SUq nu! -A
Figutv 3: Ad/us td per Capita Income in China, India. Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa, 1 % W
H , I I ( X I
51.000-
%2,lNxl-
suw of m a l well-king." El Salvador, Nicara .and Peru, all tom by war, have one into economic tail,pinr. c v l a n children are malnourishefto the polnt that one in three has stunted growth. accordin to thegovmrnent's National Investigation of Nutrition and ~ e a f f h . In El Salvador, staples like beans are now called "rich people's food" and health workers report that infant mortality is w'giwu
h w r t r Hi~rLlliul. h In.l!tutr hud on $ummrr. a d I l~rtlt81
I ,I!(,, \ r , ,wr .~ ,.- . . -,-.' C - -
.-., .I
..' .,' ..- -'
,< - ..- ( lit".
Asian p c o ~ r n i e s have been sharply divided durin the turbulence of the eighties. In China, average iKOtIW hrs rbcn$ more than 60
Alnca
Of , I
19Nl 1% Imo 1m IWI IWTS IW)
.rtv1rt ..IIIC~< tlrt, dt.cdJtq hrg,rn (sibtb f:1gurr3 Indl,~, Indoncb~a. R~tstarr, .~nd flr,~~l.rnd havib alw r a ~ u ~ d pvr c@ta ~ncomc apprt~ria. hlv during tht* VI ,htlv\. In wmc caw\ a! .I ta$er rat(, than 111 varltcr 18 Jrcadvb (~.ln~l,rt!t'*h. liurm.,, and \.~ctn,~~n, k' ctrntr,r~t. h,lvr \tafi. n,~ttrl. ,rnd thr i ' l i ~ l ~ p p ~ ~ r ~ ~ he)\ t*)ipvrlmclcl a harp d?ullnv.!'
httdn rountritl that 11d\~i~ do^^' iviall durlfrg t k t . t g h t ~ t l - ~ . o ~ n ~ t d ~ ~ n ~ tdllv. ~rmrurg the t t ~ \ ~ ctruntnt- h ~ r whtch talrlf rvlidblr pc~vrrtv i5t1- nr,~tt,\ c\r,t - h,wr .llrt, nrsdr strldt+* In allevrat~ng privt,rtv Thtt tu~tt~nt trt ,rhcrlut,* povt3rty In Chlna hdr hwn ru t dr,~m,~t~c,rllv during thtv r,rptl tr.trnt*niic gnlrvth (11 1ht9 c~$ht~i,s. In 1980, ' ~ ~ ~ t ~ r d l n g 10 onr crtlaratc. 1511 tn~lllon ('hlnt.se I ~ v i d In povcrtv; by lo88 bc3st rstl- mete* put tht~ n\rmlx,rat 70 m~ll~on, cSvt-n though the countrv' ptpu- I,~tli ln Ir.iti ,rukptr b y (1'4 m t l l ~ i i ~ r 1>\rr t h ~ s perrod Indoncsla. n\t.,rnrih~~v, AllI rtdu~tqi the prtlc)ii tit its XI~LI)A~IO~ I" prvertv hy Lwtrvtarn onr.fourth and onr.halis~ncc 1950. acccadlng to dlftcwnt c5tinretrs 'I'hdlland hac r r ~ r t c d l g rn;!ts: 50-percrnl reduction Inctb IY(r0, and. th~ush stil concrr~c~crs~al, ~ndlcat~ansnrc that the plvcrty rdtrs In 1nd1.1 and I'aL~stan have. dt.clined hy stweral per- c~*ntaRr polnts In the c~fiht~rs.:'
To d~stln ulsh tht* 'flrcts of tronomlc hndsh~p on the poorer mem- hr,n 01 did World ~wieties is n d~ t l~ ru l t task, yet existing evidence
in Latin America. Meanwhile. FA0 stuiies on Bangladesh. Brazil. CMe d'tvoiw. Ghana, southern India, Kenva, Malawi, Mexico, and the Philippines show that ml wages for a~ricultural labor, a critical mmprnrnt of p w r huuwirhulds' livelihoods, harr been declining. In &ire, the ml value of the minimum wage in 1982 was about 3 per- cent d what i t was in 1970. Meanwhile, 'ces particularly for food, have risen in nal tenns a l W e v e r y w K , ;akinqa heavy toll on
"In dire, the nrl value of thr minimum wrRe in 1982 war about 3 prrivnl of what i t wan in 1970.'
urh.ln .lnd rural W.IKI' tt.irnl.r\ .~llhv ,\lid tlnrrnplcwn~vnl t~t~~is~rvni. pl~~vnit .nt, dlid IOU .pn~d ~ ~ ~ l t - t + r r ~ ~ ~ l ~ ~ v r n t ~ ~ ~ t h.rrc* ,111 rn~rt*.~.i~cl niarLczllv In u,ldv r~.g~clri* 111 tht. 'Thlrd \Vr>rld :' 19 In thr trw c~ lun t r l~s whcrc tht~r~~gli t~t.r 'vII t .$t (In t h r v q r ~ ~ t v 111
~nc~nmt-d~\ t r~hut~o~i has her11 ~icwunic.nlirf, thc n.\ult* 1.i~n11rm I~I.II thc (xir h.iur h~ rnc tht* hrutit (11 the t-,.i~noni~i h . i r ~ l ~ l i ~ p ~ In Alr~c,i. \ lu11~\ ctn Ntgtbrta, M.~dag~~%c~r. dnJ U.l lsu~ su#gv\l Illat I h r t ~ r p ht-twwn r~ch ,lnJ , p w r hrs wldrntul d n r ~ n ~ l h r .rltrl t ~ l 11vt6r.lll tuc* nclmlc drclinr. I.~kvwrw, In H.ingl,~drcli,Sr~ EnLa, and I1skl\ten cqlritv of Income d15trlhutlon h,i* dc~trrluratnl >In< I, thv tvrlv uSvvn. tit*. &vrr.ilnl: cdrl l~r ~nipnwt*mt-nt\ I ,itln Arnt.r~t,ln Intlrnitp dlstrl- hut~un, d l re~dv thr ivi~rbt 111 thv world, d l ~ o ,I I cdr5 III l idvq deterlora1r.d. Thr F A 0 rt.pc)r& that In rural onqa* 111 irn,11, thv F i r , tlon of natlonal Income giung trt tho purnrt trnrh ~ r f thr ru~pulattr~n dwlinrd hv 14 perccbnt in the carlv r l gh t~~r , u.hllc thin grl l r ln gwng 111 thr wt.althic51 tabnth ~ncreau-d hv.3 thud. I I~I'WI~I', .twcvn IOKl and 1983. Rra7il's average lnccrmc b l l hv 14 prcsnt, hut thv dvi+r~g~ Income of thr poor fell bv up to tr lct. that murh Acrcr*r I . r l ~n Amrr~ra, the r ~ c h have squirrelrd awav lhv~r fl~rtunr* in forelgn hanks, while the pcwlr, tra pd hrtwwn r~sing f c n d prlcrsand falling wag<*, have brrn p u s h J o the very margins of survivalzb
Given the scarcltv i ~ f consistent data that dlrcctlv mCa.druw the global poveiky rate cannot he determined breciwly ~~~:~~ mates, no matter how ruu h help to indrcate the, wale of the pnth Irm and the directtons of c!kge. Some -can k.~alhered uf the poverty rate in each Thud World country by vxamlnln6 a w ~ d r van. etv of social and economic tnd~caton, ~ncluding the few recent sur. vcvs of household income, from dozens of published and unhblished sources, and from the internal dcrumentr of mul t i l tn- al institutlm. While the mar~ins of e m f ate wide ftn each country. totaling these individual as~srnent5 on a regional basis balancm out inaccuracies, pmviding the bert sketch of the cxtenl of abwlute poverty possible with current data. (See Tabk 3 . P
Risinm poverty rates in Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia
Table J: People 1:btimaled to be Living in AbJuk Poverty, 1989
Number S h r n of Tokl 20 Region
- . . - . . . . . ... . + - .. - . of People' - Pppulation lm,Il,‘1n.' l,v""'"
A\I,I 675 25 Suh~S,~h,~r.~tr Atr~td 325 b2 I r ~ l t ~ ~ An~i'r~cd 1 VI 35 N Atrtco & hi~iltih~ F,r\l i F 28
10 h d v ~ w . ~ m p l l the plvrrtv nuluctlons in India and Chlna. c rewlt h.l\ hcen that In 198'4 dpprox~matelv 1.2 bill~on people
11vt.d In ehsc~lutc povertv. In large part because of population p w t h , that tot,~l IS much laver than iwrr below. Perha mow sig- nillcant I:. rvhdt th~b means for the global poverty rate, Gorld Bank i~gun.i \ugKrst that ratc btcud at 22.3 prrcent in l%, afterdtrlining sti.ad~lv but graduallv slnw mid-century. The new poverty estimate of 1.2 htll~c>n peopli translates to a orertv rate of 23.4 percent. h n n g thrnyht!rs. In uther words, t k llobil poverty rate b r not only stt1pp-d all~ns. hut has rixn.3 '. Thtw 1.2 billion p n p l e a n not a homop;enecrus group. Nonetheies, a few ~rneral~zations helpanswwr the question, Who are the poor? Drspjtr rapid uhnizdtic)n and ~ m m ,1n g urban p o v e T i n much of the world, four-fifths of those in absolute vert stil l ~ v e In rural arras. Onlv In Latin America docs r lave sere orthe poor-nearly one-half-jive in c i t b . A l m a all of the poor, in q t k r e, live in, and are ruiturally shag4 by, thp world $two m d h v~llrgPs-tk tightly knit m i a l an economlc lnslllutlons that have been at the center of human life since thr dawn 4 a+culture.~
"1)urin~ the eightirk the ~ Ioba l poverty rate has not only
vlopprd falling, hul haa rlsrn.'
Fvcn amon8 th~dh~ci lute elor, d~.jirctns at otvrtv can h ~ d ~ * t i ~ i . .uishrd. Mich,~rl 1.1ptun cbfthr Intt-rn.it~ona~~t*,d kol~cv Htwnrth k t i t u t e in Washingtlin, I> (' , h,~c drnic~n*tr.itcd that th~rcv r t thc. vtvv hottom of thc t~concm~t laddcr form d d~elinet cuh-cl,ic* 21 Iktincul ac Ihos whci bpnd HO y w n t of thcw In~i*mvcm I<wd hut still lack vulfic~ent calurit-. to mcvt their maahvl~c nrrads, thi* undrr nourished clacs accc~unts fur psrhap unv-thlrci 111 the. ahu~lutr pcrlr, or 4(X) mllllon$!aple. All uf the poor rat boring. nrc,nc~tr~nt~~~\, and unapptid~ng leis of cereals, nulls, and Iegumc-. dav aftrr dav. and ,111 mav ht. hungrv pt.ncdically, but tmly tlw undrrni)ur~ch~rl pnln*it run a high r~sk o( ~rishin. or 5uffer1ng dunttd growth and ma-ntsl retardataon for IdctI(l)f kxdkl
All levels of thr world'$ oor are ~ i v ~ ~ r w k l m ~ n g l v ~I l~tcrdtr, dnd therefore lack access to inlirmation and tdeda that ;uuld hrl thcm tbscape poverty Indeed, social 4cirnt1\tri studying poverl" t~mugh statistical ana/vsis commonly flnd ducalional It.vel lo ht. the vrrb ahle that correlates most clcwelv to standwd ool I ~ r ~ n g . Even among landless laborers, when. literacy would H m lo maltor little. those whocan mad tend toearn more than t h c ~ whocannot."
r areoften distinct in race, t r ~ k , or religion from dominant
are sli hlly mar likely lo be femele than male, prticuL?rly % E a r n . L i n e . some arulvrts to weakof a ~ b b a femlnim- tion af poverty," G g h t k trud extent bI female vrrty m i n a uncertain, t h m is no qURhOn that life is hanher p w r womm than for poor men. Women's burdens multi ly endleasly. They are paid less than men-in Egypt, hall as much f a n blur. But they work mo-ne to three additional hours each day, according to
.;peap are lad ~ d n s pue Xzq ayl lo Aura 'UPJ lbw JJAWWIf PUP lJAJ4WtM 'pl yOM PUW YlOM 111 &$8y .h!p!dn~s lo ssaune p~0g.r w u u r ~ 3 p a 01 as013 os aldaa~, ,I! qnd ,pue(%q .uotq& q satpnis ~uwdqanaa la, atnl!tsul aql JO slaqurq3 (ra40g sy .in0 XPQ PUP u! A l p p l q +&OM daqt u i ~ o ~ p a pue Ou!leuq+~eq uolruam 01 IOU 'arnaasur pup 'a{qeasun '{raw -auld A[(ensn s! p u ! ~ uea Aaql ~ J O M l q ~ . d w o u o ~ ~ punolhapun aqa u! uaoqel pal[!'(sun 'sarl!J UI a .q 6 9 1 j! 90 .sramseJ ~ R U I ~ P W , u a d d w ~ e q s 's~aroqel le~nl(ni~rYe ss~lpuvl ale i s o ~ .n'ur;ruo.v ~eq+ aql )O sa8ulr) aql le pa&aliua>uor, SI r ~ , d a q l p 130.~ a q l
,tsO~a~\od B u ~ d e . ~ jo wueqs lulls ipe.u(r I! yl $u!wy.mol .wmi z 01 sqiuotu 9 jo age le>!a!l> aq1 Yullnp ~a%unq .IIU~IJ~J m llnsal e se pa~edu~! dlpluaru pue pajunls ~[ lw~sr iqd .ur .*.\r.uns oqm ,wql JO due^ l e q111q qrj11 llaq8 alqaqa!p sra~s*un~)i aaq i iu pqql +uo s d r q l J ' l a b uwli pue ,ua\uys!lnnu ,ualxjjns ~ ~ t t y ~ v l 'swa -SIP dq pa 3elM yemdn n'ld~tsqs ulnl SaiPJ qluap iuetul 'sauto.Tui J ~ M O , p *!i~u!~!ld~ns 1s: s l u a i ~ d r l r q l lo1 u ry l rsrs* u r r r >IF aldoad unod acaq) JL\J s~ )~*dso~d aql pur 111 dSts ;1q1 lapun alr IL& a$n[osqP s,p[lo.w aql O \pllql-O,w~ sdt*ql.ki *A(lu,inhwuo,~ .a$ lq Ieqi art, w!l!rnPl loud,<; 1ua31ad 1s $ 5 'ql.,qtuatu .rnirn lo iq~!, aneq IlslaAo sall!urp/ .~al~iuntr> ~ulJop;;p 14, ruw.ki (x-5, .;ealaqM ipqi slrodal uoldtl .SWC.IIJIII ~ L I * Al~iuvl " iau~~~.ip ZIUII)UI ,\r ua1pl1q.3 SI Allahod Aq panWald isom d n o ~ l dql *,t[lt*.w,~itrnN
"Perhaps two-thirds of the world's abwlutr oor
are under the aRr n/l5."
I'twr p o y l c anA iclntrntrdtcd jiivjir.~plr~(ally .I$ wtsll I'ovrrtv Jur~ri. n.at1.s much (11 111th A l r l~ . ln ton t in r~r t , espr<~al lv thr I.~nJlc~cLi.d t~dt~(tns 01 thc drld 1tr11t. th.tt \ t r ~ t~h t . \ l r l~ rn A f r u t ~ t ~ n ~ ' ~ to I,tlrlulv.r and the central rrjirt)n cur r~~undr~~) : tllv \&bt C (LIIKII KII,L,~ ~,ICIII 111 23 'iorth Atr~ca and thc MJdIt* f.,rst, rllr,rl p o r rr lv rcnr,rln\ pvrv.lwvi. rn North and %uth Yvrnen, E * 11, .lnd Morcn~c~. ~III. Iprt twrr h,rvt. v\tt,nsrvtb urban povertv a\ w'?//,
W ~ t h ~ n 1.at1n Amer~cd, poverty p01 kvts drc found 111 ~ ~ ~ u l h v r n M ~ \ n o dnd Crntr,ll Amrrlra, 1l,11t1 dnd thc.lh~rnrn~ran Kt*puhll~, th13 Andr.1n cuuntrr~> ot I:ruador, I'r-ru, dnd Ikll~\ ~rl, dnJ Ihc nc~rthcast (11 Rrdftl. In Clrlna, the poor .me ccjn~.~.~ltr.~ttrl 111 tht. .~rrd. tnhw ~tehlc mt!unt.lln<lus n p o n \ of the icntr.jl and we>tt,rtr prc>vrntt-\ fpailru. (~u l rhou. N lng\~a. Qlnha~, 5J1danx1.5rchu.1n. ,~nd 1rh.t In 51111th Asla. ~ o \ ~ e r t y continuc.r It, ( lomln .~ t~ thr. rurnl arr.1.. 01 Bdtl$Ldl'sh. Nepal, and dhutdn, the h~fihl.~nd p r ~ ~ v i n < r s < ~ l wmtrrn I'dL~ctdn, dnd the nirrthedsterrl stdtes ot Indld, pdrl~ruldrly Orlv,~, Ulhdr, Mddhvd and Uttar l'radcsh.dnd W t ~ t Ik.ng.il " Abw~lute poverty 15 rare In affluent lands, yet 11 1s wurth notrng that ~ndustrlal countr~es' own, Icz,s-sevt,rc. I,,rm o l poverty ha* JIM) kx*n on the r l w d u r i n ~ the el vhtres, particularly In thr* t i n ~ t d Stdk*. the t in~ ted Kin dorn, and &stern Eurirpl.. W ~ t h I;ld*ncrst. the FH,vlel Unron and Eastern Euro ean countr~es have biaI;un lo rvvr r l thc extent of deprlvntlon wstftn their borders. Onc..llfth of k v re t c ~ t v
r t td ly live below theoff~cul poverty l i n c ~ ~ f 75 ~ b l t ~ ( S 1 1 6 ) r z x a n d many 1301rs have wen their 1,vellhrdorll w~thr r aa the~r economy unravels.':
I n the Unitrd States, the eighlirs have~r~en more p r c r p k l l v ~ n ~ k ~ l o w thu poverty line-which~tusd just over SlZJJM prr yclr fur a family of lour i n 1988-than at any time slnce tlu' War on Povrrty was inill- ated i n the mid-sixties. ln'1979, theequity crf incumedistrtbution began to deterlorate ra ~d ly . by l986,d1sparitsm In earnlnfir wrrr the worbt on record Lanwh l l e . the m e d m larntly Income war lowrr in 1966 than m 1973, measured i n constant dolhrs, and aver- age weekly earnin@ w m lower than i n 1%. Fallin6 ml w a w and
Krvatrr ~nwludlitv Itd incvitahlv to rlhin poer ty : in 19M. *ome 32 mrlll~~n A~nt.r~c,~n* livtd h-lorre theofhcla? y13Frtv lint*. Mwt scverp I v .~flvclcd rrc8 rnlntwltltss. Irmalr-headed housc~hold%, and thc
24 \;ourr~, ctllr41ith I I ~ Ame.rican rh1ldn.n a r t b g n ~ ~ i n s up in pver lv
'I'h~l*. wlh wltit.nln$ tnctlrnc dlhp'lntics annlw thr glolw, i l will not h- long ht.lon% thtw 15 a l 'h~rd Wc~rld w~thln the, Flrst World, and a t:~rrr wthln thts Thlrd I7urlng thc te~ghl~cs, drsp~tts madrri tc hul \tc,~dv Pir1nt)mlc Kru~r<th at the global I e v ~ l , absolute poverty has ~ n c r ~ a t d lartrr than populahcm. The tnev~table question is, Why din,, p~vvrtv wntlnuc 10 spread in an age incomparahlv mow prm- frrrlu> than arry In h~story?
Uruguavon h15tclr~an Eduardn Galcanc~ once wmte, "The division of lahw amon nntlons i:. that some sprialirc In winning and othem in loh~ng. 'VT!r mtmbers of the Im overishcd quarter of humanltv wmarn dcst~tutc. not thmugh an" Zult of thcir own. Kather, they a* victims of a wt of wonomv and polit~cal km that wlegate them to thr mlenf p r p t u a l lrwrs in the ~ lohal division of labor.
The wcrrld's poor a r e caught hy forces at the local, national, and dohal lcvels that combine to form a threetiered trap. At the local bevel, these lncludc skewed atterns of access to land and other assets, physical wedkness anb;leiRhten& susceptibility to disease, y p u l t i n n gnrwth, and powerlessness a ainst camp instimiom.
h e w are reinforced a t the natlclna! le\*el b innumerable policies-from tax laws to the structure of deveLpment invest- inent4hat neglect or dlxrirninate aga~mt the poor. And at theglob al level, t h e r aw held down hv the devastating combination of op nrsive ebt hurdens, high inierest rates. fallin aport prices, an{ rising capital flight. The debilitating effeds of%nvironmental deteriontion are also evident at the local, national, and intenatioml levels, and are detailed separately in the next seaion. AU these far- tors and forces. like m k v o k n t counterparts to Adam Smith's in&
'In 1988, w m S t mllllon Amcricanr lived below
the offldrl poverty line.'
ible hand, strengthen each other as they in te r l t~k , tr~htenlng the global poverty trap.
In thevillages, where the w r live, the first of thr povurcy trap's 25 four local parts is the lark ofproductrve asnts. The pnur are poor not only becruse they d o not earn much hut because they du not own much either. In develop~ng wieties, wherc t h m o i four p> 1r air, their livelihood in anriculture. thr most crucial assrt i n cncf, ar infant mortalily sta'i~stice str;kl rllustrate In Compan~ganl, Bangladesh, babiesborn to landless~bormarerlmolt twccean Irkr. I to die before therr first brrthday as t h w born to owners of juat tim acIPS.W
Yet ownershrp of farmland is concentrated In the hands of a fortu- nate few. (See Table 4.)" A rough indicator of land concrntration comes from the shareof a nation's arable land held by the Iar rat fa-, ya o v a d l distribution M alsa s h p e d the share heli by middle-srzed fa-. The best single mealrre $land concentralion is the$nicoeWcient, a mathematical i n d a of the degree to whlch land rstrrbutron amon landownera deviates from quali ty, At a gini rating of zero, all t r m c r s own the u m r amount of land. As ownership becomes conctntrated in fewer hands. the gini index nur toward one. Latin American nations' land ownership ir the moat skewed rn the world, a legacy of colonlal times, when S p n a h and Portueuew ~ l e n eaublished vast plantations; 1 percent of Irnd- lo& ~ o m d y own mom than 40 p k e n t of tho arible land. On t k gini scale, Latin American k n d distribut~on generally exceeds .75, reflecting extreme inequality. Crowded M i n rutions am wmcwhat better, with gini figures between .51 and .64, while in Africa, where land is less scam and collective t r i b l hndholding arrangements modmte inequality, owmship pattrms fall W e e n .36 and .H on the gini d e .
W h auldistribukm of farmland is swcrr, htion pressures y s h m more of the poor into the v u l n n r r p i t i o n of bein6 a r m m wrthout land. As millions of poor famllics divide their
already smU frmu between t h e ~ r chddrrn, plots h n k t o r rize
Table 4: Conccnlntion of b n d Ownership, Sekcted Countries, Early Seventies'
Asla l n d ~ Indoma l'ak15t~1d I'hlllpptlu~'
Africa Kmyn Camamn Zaiw MdI'lw1
Yhrmxh~ dru hm early vvmrws nqn w h ochmu. ~ndtcated All grpC. lndr\eir&ul*~ Inm Qb fcw srrlv u v m h
insufficient for sukistence. The mechanization of agiculrure in some regions has displaced millions m o ~ , as c o m ~ l ciperaton ape1 s h a r m o q p , urttus. and smallholders. The environmm- trl dkb of riang la&ssness am particularly sevew, as uprooted rural population% push into fra* ecosystems
The typical poor prson IS no Ionser '1 w b s i ~ t r n t ~ tq~rrnrr hut a dlc possc.5~4 laborer; ~ndrrd, the numhtv (11 Iandks rural huun*h~~l t l~ in the world has never hu.n h~ hrr Estlmatd In Irnl at 167 mllllt~n households-938 mllllon pup~-tht- InndLb, and nearlandli~z .lrcS expecttd to increase to nearly 220 million ktu,urhc~ld$ hv thr turn (11 the century. They make up a I.irge sharr of a rl~ulturbl fdnitIlr\ 111
many dcveloplng countriea, ranging rs hiK! a; 42 pertent In thc Dominican Republic. (See Table 5.)': KCflecting patternh of land con. rmtrdtlon. landlt~sness IS ml~st pronc~uncrd In lntln Arnrrlc~, w m r - what less prevalent in Asia, and st111 new 111 Atrlcd, th~lugh rBc.c.n there landlessness ir nslng in more fertile rqlc~nr."
Becauw o l the dispossrswd state of mcl5t of this pwr. thv~r d,)y"tw day calculus of survlval now has thrw variabln the nvatl.rhll~ty ol work, the wages offered, and the price o l f1111d In r.lch ca~e, thi* prospects a n not rood. Wa es and prlccq have gonvsptn" thr pcntr during much o l t i i s decacfe The growth of the labor forcch means that nrarl 40 million people enter the job market edch year; the Third ~ o r r d will have at least 600 millillion man. potmtial wtrrkcm In the year ZOO0 than in 1985. Already unemployment and underem. ployment, though wmewhat hidden, arc. riunpant In bolh urban and rural areas of the Third World. Those who lack gainful employment use their time to whatever benefit p5 ib le4o1ng houarwcrrk, scav. englng ~n garbage Jumps, or rndlesblv searthlng lor bark A* the World Commission on Environment a d Develomrnl wrote. "Mint of the so-called unemployed are in fact worktni 10-15 hours a day, six to seven days a week. Their problem is not w) much underem. ployment as underpayment."u
A debilitating but frequently overlooked dimensic~n of the poor's lack of assets is their extreme vulnerability to unfomcen expensrr and emergencies such as natural diwsters, crop failures, fires, ill- nesses, funerals, and the costs of legal battles and bribe. TO mwt the% needs a poor famil must often bonow st usurious rates from moneylenders, lmg de& on deprivation, DI must sell or mortgage whatever they t%e-land, livestock, houw, tools, even t M r htu~ labor--I~quently at prLcs as low as one-third what thy could gel i f
Table 9: Landless m d Near-landless Rural HoCcholds, Selected Countries, Mid-wve(ltin
hrnintcan Hrpuhl~c 48 44 92 Cuatcmal,~ 47 38 65 Fcu'idor 52 23 75 I'rn~ 46 29 75 brdrll 10 60 70
I'h111ppmc.s 34 35 69 Colomh~a 24 42 66 El Snlvadnr' - 65 65 Iiondurnb 46 18 64 Bangladrsh' 33 W 62
Costa Rica 11 44 55 India 13 0 53 Mexico 33 18 51 Malavsia 35 12 47
Africa 30 10 40
'NU Inm htrnpntn b m d - a # ~ m
bum: WarWrarrh lnst~tute **
they had time to bargain. This vulnerability gives pov a ratchet effect, making poor people poorer by diminishing b o t 8 e i r larYto and their income.45
Augmenting the vulnerability d the poor hs km the hying of h.- ditionrl village safety nets Patrowclient nlrtion~ between WbrQ ad pcrslnb, which. thoughaploitrtiw, mated some feelings d
"For lack of food the poor have no rn r y to work,
and for lack o?work thry have no money lo buy f d . "
rt%plnsrh~l~tv among rural 1.11te.s, haw k t - l ~ wpldcrd hv ~ n l p r u ~ n d l w t ~ ~ r - l d h r ;ractict.s. Ektendcd farnillt.\, whrch pro\,~tltii I~ni i t rd hut cifrclt,nt mutual support nrtwclrk5, havr hwn inr.rew*~nglv fr.~~nlc*nt. #xi hv prln'rncnt ml ration t c i CI~IC, and u..ilunal n l~gr~t ion III tom. 29 mtbrci,rl farms. In ajdi t ton, as dl'lcusstd In the nvxt ~ t v t ~ t r l l , thv f.~llbach renurceh ot the poor-pohl~c fc~rerlr. field*, and water wavh-havc.hrt.n hoth deplrtcd atid prl\~,it~/ed " 1 . h ~ rrcond part trf the overtv l rap a1 thl, lc~rnl II.VI-I 15 phv511-a1 n.raknchs and illncsh. L r lark of con5,tcnt nr~ur~\hrnt-nt. 1 I tvn n.dttqr, basic medical care, and sufflclrnt hou*~ng \pateb to ,i\.ord rsprd s read of ~nftx-t~on, the pcwr arc rhrrrnicallv wrdhcn~d hhv dl+ rase. d s l pronc~uncrd among thtrsc one-third of the J~~IIUIP pwr who lack rven enough caloric* to mtw thclr mrt,~hohc. nxlutrvmcnt\, phvslcal weakness can cornbind with low 1nh)me to furm a vicloub i.rrcle. For lack of f t rd. they have no energy to work, and lor I.ick of work thry have no moncy to buy food Thr word\ (11 t.idrl, .I Ban ladeshi lahorer, ~llustrate thrs dosperdte phght "Ntr work, nl!
What ~ 1 1 1 we eat toni ht? I'd try to get a p h at the ron+ln~r- tton s~tc where [my brother1 !!udir works, but I 'm not btrong cnou h When the bosses look at me, they say, 'We can't hire hrm. flr wouldn't last two hoursca in that heav cement ' It's true.. I'm too weak, but the Icss I w c x , t f e weaker et becauap I have nu food to fill my belly. I hop I can law until tL%ahX" In k t . Hari died days after uttering those words, one of the rnilllonb whri fall prey each year to poverty's quiet violence.4:
Population r m u m form the third part of the poverty trap at the local level. L p i d population growth forces wages down to the wr . viva1 level, as the poor compete with each other for xarce work. I t stretches investment resuurces thin and raises the number of chil- dren for whom each worker must provide. I t overtaxes natural resources. diminishing their productivit)r. Yet par couple8 are dJiv- en by a complex set of cirrumstances Into having Iar e famil~m. First, they recognize that some of their children wi l f l ikely die. Women i n the Indian village of Chimel, Guatemala, acknowledge this bitter mality as part of their wedding vows, saying, "I will b e
n~tltl~vr. 1 w111 *t11ft.r, niv \,hlldren will s i l l f r ~ mdn! ot my ct i~ldrtn I I I hut 1 W I I I 1101 jilvt8 up " S ~ a ~ n d , poor t'cotni-n tvnd 111 h' ~ I I V Icd*t i%!itt,~ttd ,1111i h,~\,i. the I O \ V P S ~ \~&IIC 01dll WIIIIICII - h ~ t h 30 ~ ~ I i , ~ r , i c t t ~ r ~ ~ t ~ ~ ~ ~II,II J ~ I ~ C lh~wbly rc,l,~t~*ti to Iirjil~ tet111tv r~1tt.s Third, tllvv h,iw !Ill, Ie$~\t ~1i,it-\ II I &nv,iri\ (11 t~ t~~ i t r c%I \~r~g t M r l t - r t t i ~ t y ~ ~
~ ~ I I ~ ~ I I I V , [w<,r ~o t~p l tb \ Ii,ivt~ m~lriy ~ l i ~ l d r c ~ i '18 pir t 01 ,I %tralttsgv lor ( l c ~ ~ ~ i ~ ~ ~ n ~ t wniurltv 111 tlic t~(111stant \ t r i ~ ~ j i l t ~ 101 \urv~v,iI. tht* pour 5~1~. rli11drt.n ,tr .In hxontlrnli .~ssr t ' i~id r r t l r em~nl plan rulled 111tt1 onr Abscnt I l i v r ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ a ~ ~ ~ i ~ c and 1nstitut1on,1l iclndttions tn \\.hvl\ cath 111ti1. v1rl11.1l I I J ~ gooti th,111~t.s 111 S U C C C ~ \ , tdrnlllm htbtLcdrh chrld '1s a n t ~ l ~ l ~ i ~ r t u ~ i ~ t v tv hroadtsn, d r r r r s ~ l r , and thrrt*hy strcngthrn t h u r mt,.lnr (11 $11 art Whvn tln1t.s ,1rt, h,14 u~nic,'thtbv mav h a h.tlcr lor t~tln.rz ~ K I , "5trtmgth In numhr r s" s t ratcgv may luwcr thr. tht~nic\rtt (rulllng tlic whole lan~ilv out ot powrtv, hut that 13 a sm.~ll prriv It) p.lv 11 11 nduic.; the risk talllng into \tarvation.
Tlrc local p r ~ v c r t v t r a p ' s fourth part 15 powcrlt*ssnc*s!, Kobrrt Ch.1rnht.r~ ul thc instltutr lor Devchrpment Studies dzscrlhca the p"rd~c,~~ncnt rvcll.
lg1111r.111t ol the Ira , wrthoul l~,gal d d \ ~ i c . <~~mprlrnl : tor raiilh~ynienl dnd rrrram w~th othcrs In J s lm~hr condltlcbn. the Ipoarl htlurt,huld i s .111 r isv victlm ot rcdalron hv the y t u 1 tu* nherrtid or ~ i w m d i d Itl Cw soctaI sttltus 1% puzttlon LS WIQL In nt-g<~i~dttng term* t o r the U\C 01 115
I.ik~r or thr mlr ~ t s produce or a w l s It 13 casilr. rxplolttrl b\ nionrvlr~ndcrs, mcrchdnls. Idndlonls, mwllu oifldals. and ~ L I L F h ~ d w 01 thr powu ,a! thr nihrr i m l and u h n ).eq: PIC and 111 thrlr nllldntc- the hou,ehold . I \ , I I ~ , putrl~cal nctl\-lly whrch n~lght cndan.fr future emph~vmt~nt,'tendnr.y. Iwm. ,rr,ors, or pnrtt%%~un.4k
asants in West &ngal, India. u v . "Fishes can't afford to live on :firms wtth the c d i l e s in the +I''W
Unable t o rrad, the poor are sometimes misled or intimidated into s i p i n 8 awav their n ~ h h toiand or accepting debt repaymrnt terms
th.11 vi'rfic 1x1 rxttvtnm I.oc.11 otfrc~als tsmploy well-~~itrncl~~rl lati, .~nd r~~ j iu l~ t l i ~nh 111 h,~n.lv tlir Iv\s tortllrl,~tv to tht. IOII~I ot ll,~r,~l\.ws I vfi.11 ry\lrnl\arv oltrn Jr.aii t'nti lor tht, prmr, rnftl1c.d ,I\ thlqr (itm ~ v r I r ~ t i i ~ r i ~ I i n t i n I I 31 t.*yl~~lcat~on of poor pcsoplr dr~i-. n~ l t t.\.ian u.t.dr thc Ir.lplrln);* III Irg.lllt! 'l'htb attlvr hum,ln r~gl i t \ ~itsti\.~~rhs 111 tir41/ll .lnd IIIL~I~I hotli rtm i ~ r t dlnil14 d,iilv klllrngr and hrutalltv aK.lln\t ! I 1 1 5 rlrrdl [litor d t . n t l i r wv.tlthu to court .1g,111i\l th18 l~l~ter.\tt. pbtbr thcrc. 1% 11tt1c (~~rnpt i t lon Whcn tht .~ go to w,lr thc~rt, I, titmc
l'ovrrty In thi=*(.orld ot th(6 ptrlr 1s 11kc 0 wt 111 ( lirnt*u.h~r~a* w~thtn thr \vsllc 111 cn1.h htrx 1 1 t a \ ,I vrt mnrt d~yviv<,d group 'Shr. poirr undtsrstand lull wvll thv '.trat~f~~,dht~n 111 thdr ~v~rrh l ~ r i t l ~ Idvrr* ol P(I!YPL ~n(Iurn(.i*, and wt'dlth, .id drccrlh, 11 in [r~lntvd ttsrnl\ In thv slums of Calcuttd, thry dlfterentlntc hctticen " l I i r c t . - m r . ~ l ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i d v
," "two-mi*,ilr-a-d,1\. ryltn,';yi " trnr.mi~l~a.d~~y PIO~IV " Rdnjilrdrsh, vil agvrs s I.,I (11 "th~~+ta w11r1 *I! ,ind r,rt''
and "thnu. who wi~rk. 5?
The ~nrqual l t~rc In Thlrd World vtll.lges .in rt.plltaled and rrrn. iijrrtd at Ihr naticlnal level, wherc tax I,IWZ, hrdfit.l~nji, and vi>lum~- nous regulat~ons r~t .n . \~hrr t~ tavor the Irw over Ihiv mdnv Nattonal Invibstmcnt\ have Ion 7 btvn t~lted sharplv tt~ivard the (urtttnstc lnhahltants of cities an2 away frvm thc ~ r d i p ~ ) r , In ~s.itn*m~srdslr. raw corruption and harnonic t3xtratragance turl Ihv d l ~ ~ ~ r 4 1 o n 01
resourct% Prcsidrnl Lohuto i w %Lo of 7~irt.. nrhcr ha, allrgrdly been systematically emkzzlin~, exptrt earning* since he tcmk prwer in 1965 and owns assets ntimated at 55 billion, hullt a NnWdV in hls native villa e long enough for a Concarde. I1rc.+idrnl tiouphuult- Boign of tffe West African countrv of Cdte d'lvorrr, meann.hile. recentrv completed construction of* 5200.milllc~1 a~r-cond~t~cmcd cathedial that dwarfs even St. Petcr'sin the Vatlcan. Trimmcd with nine a m of Italian marble and French stained glsss, the church $113 in an im verishcd country whereonly one-lmth d the population is ~athoK"9
CBted'lvoire's new cathedral is an apt symbol for normal praaica
ot dt-rt.ll,prnc.nt ~ n r r \ t ~ n m l I I I mitch r ~ t ~ I I ~ lhlrd \%'orld. 111 dofens LII n , ~ t l ~ l n s - - - M c x ~ ~ o , I'vru, f l r d / ~ l . Klgetla, South Afr~cd , tht,
32 I'h~llpp~nu\. and t~thcr\--yvcmrncnt\ have suppressrd pr~cc\ p a d lo I,lrmcr\, sll~llurrlng rnll I I I I ~ \ LII dolldr)~ I*> g r i~nt i los~ ~ndustrlal- 1111t11111 I>rt~lcit\ In 1h12 cap~tdl Thc r t*~ul t in~h~gh~tErhnol (~gy facill- I l c 8 \ , m t ~ r ~ * l v Ind}>pnl jrlalc It! Ioc,~l clrcumLancPs scarce capll.~! ,rtrd ,~hundant un\ltflt*d Iahtlr, nurv s tandas mclnumcnta both to luti11ty and Ilrcrlully toor \ 1~11*1vc to try~vale w~thout large 5ta11x * u b \ ~ d ~ c ~ , tlirv ctt1it.r +tdnSldlr ur, whcn fundrd, ront~nuouslv rtvnovv tvralth Ir~,in pcwr td rn~rr \ ,111d laborer5 to a lew hundrrtl krlrrlcd p<tvrrllrncnt wurhcrs and manapen E~ther \\..~y, ccruntr~c> ~nt;ltuatr'll trtth c.on\lructitln 111 m11dt.rn day lnduatr~al ttbmplrs are drrlm~n): them hlr~tcrlanda to worx-nlng plvertv.
Thr ptbrv.wvc d ~ > p a r ~ t ~ e s of Income and we,~lth between rich and poor driE t-\dri*rhalcd hv ~nnumerabli+ policics For example, tax cod,s that on p.11'~ I C M I ~ hlghly progressive, rrquiring more from Ihv rich lhdn from thc yoq ,art> ~n practicc at b ~ s t neutral and often r e g w w w sv\tcrns. co Itxtins d~spropirtionately from those who cannot h ~ d i t h e ~ r nnlnt.!. dwav In lorei n bankiand tax shelters Covcrnnrcnl control over exploitation natural resvurces has fw- qurntlv hrisn hrnt by the weaithv to thelr own benrfit: thepro!it> imm drnica~r and N ~ g e r ~ a n oil. G u t h Afrlcan d~amonds, Phi ipplnc tuwts , and h!alays~an fisherim, tor rxample, have been appropnat- ~d by well-htuld commmial ~ n l e n s b . ~
Overly rigid qulatlonssimildrlv work against the poor. The urban and rural pcwr pay J h ~ g h portion of their income in what *ght be called "conupl~on tares." Barred from obtaining licenses and per- mits bv Bvtantinc hureaucracles with endless paperwork q u i r e - menl; thcv work outside legal channels in the unlicensed businesses bf the infcirmal sector. In this subterranean economy. brihety x h m instituticwlizrd over yean keep a krge portion of earnings nowln to shadv black market bosses and, sometimes, to corru i palice. f t icksha~; pullers in Calcutta, for instance, live in daily k r that ha& police will demand their bp&hmh.s
'Milihry txpcnditum rbwrb onr-fifth of rtrtr spend1118 in low-incomr countries."
For the pow thv moht rtllnou\ pullrv 3 .trvcLrnmvnt c,ln t.llc I\ thdl of \rraglng war. In lYnY. *nrvl\.an and rrkaet.* In H.IT-~,~V.IKI~ cotin. tries-Afshani\tan, Mornmh~quv, Ango1.1, Etlilt~pra. ,tnJ thv Sudan--.arc the earth's most cvrt.trhvd peoplc M1.lr prrl,dratla)nr 33 ~mpoverish bllltonb (11 others Thr m~l~t.irv hulld-up tI1.1t hfi* brrn twcurrtng in much of the Thld World slntb IqMI dr,iln\ 91711 l i~ l l~on from sovcrnment tr)ffr.rs each vedr M111tary t ~ x p n d ~ t l ~ r t - ~ dbwrb one.fifth of start- +pending in low-~nct~me rrrlrntrlc.i, and a higher portion o l gros\ natlonal product ((;XI', than In mtddlt*- ur I i r~h . lncomc nations. Yet mllitdrv rxp~~nditurrscri.dtt* Ir.ibrm loymc*nt and depend mureon impor& than equal rxpendlturt- ~n armtrrt an" crthrr sector. D u r i n ~ the budgrt rriser ot the 1.1ghtlt~. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. m~lltarv spendlng has km spdrrd the dramnldn t.uthatk* tnll~ctcxl on oth& areas of government s p n d i n c
National budget5 not only favor lndu~trldl over rurdl dcvrlcrpn~mt. and military over social expenditures, but r r r alstl maldistrtbutc*d within the Yertors osknbibly a imd at the pr-rur.11 dr\.rlr)pmcnt. eduralron, and health. Roads and irr~gatlon canals arc hurl! In pnm-
vous influentla1 regions first, r r~n fo rc~ng thcir advantsgc. tiectricity and piped drinking water are concentrated tn areaa of cities where residents have demonstrable legal rights to !heir homr-. thus excluding urban and rural poor alike:-Whhre rural elertrificn tron is undertaken. tt rarelv extends to the ~oorert. Anriculturdl extension workers spend much of the i r i lmr adv;iinK large landowners, and the remainder advising mlr smallholdcrb They do nothing for landless laboren or women, the mrnit disadvantlgrd gmup."
Even internahonal dwel t arsrstance npl io t l targeted to help the 'mowst of the a a < c m d e d to h e f i t not t ie -t filth of the &~~LPN of a c&ntrv, but the second f iW up the labder. Natio-l and m t e m a t i o n a l ~ l t u r a l r ~ v a r r h hasah~nrglectrd thrpannt. The food sta~les the omr-sava and millet, in Africa for a m . pie-are on& kgmni@ to m l v e anention commensurate to their im rtance. Chickens, goats, and donkeys, pwr pople 's farm ani- mat are dmrbrty undmttended i n breeding p m p m s . ~
l'ub11t c~rtdtt *ilitbmt.\ lor ~gr~c l t l t i~rzI low,+o thr 5amr r~\,tlcj, 1 rural g r o i ~ p Tlitl prttcrn dtrco\'ercd in a Wild Udok htu~& (In C;;:;I K~ca I < ,111 ~ I U I Idmlllar In 1974, home MI p r r ~ t of agrlcultttral zredtt 34 frttni thc N,tt~,,n,~l B.ink went to I0 prrct~nt pf horryticr3, .I pattt,rn whtch, ,ts the World Batik notcad, 14 more skqwed th,ln th13 distrihu- tlnli ot I-tthrr Lnd rlr tnctimt3 In tlir nation. I.&xur'tsr, .t 197h study 111
11hl1c c.rvdit tor agriculture in 10 drvt~lc~pln& ndttunr shont-d that I,trnrvr\ rtrt'~\sc*l nlow thaw thrtr-ftrorths of loans. \\,htlc sni.iI1
tdrnit.r\ r t ~ i r ~ v i ~ d 11-ss than onr-ltlurth. L ~ n d l n ~ lo Inrgc hnlderh I.-
dnuhlv r~~ur i t (~rpr (~duct~c lv . Not only have larpt, Inrmcrc prci\,cd thr*aisrlvt.\ to hr It,>., produt.tt\v per hcctam and kss reltablp her, nnr.tsr* th.tn *m,ill f,~rnier.i, they usr much of the mnxlit thiy r~c'ivc !<I purchd\rs I,thv-wvtng machinery-tractors, harvestrrs, .~nd the Itkt.- wlitch rtxiuct-\ c~nployn\c.nt p&sptvt!. for landless lahirrrs *
Edu~..ttil~n budgcth .~rt3sirnilarlv t~lttul toward the rich Untvtrs~ty cducattun I> fin t ~ \ ~ t + I l ~ n t investment for anv natlon, hut thr poor nexi prlmdrv cdurat~rin first. In sub-!%haran Africa, half of srhtx~l. a$r ch1lrfn.n upvw not rnmlled in 1982, and enmllment ha\declined .rtncch Ihen. l..lrge shams of education h u d ~ r t s , meanwhtle, providr htghlv suhsldirtd uni\-ersitv education, disprnpirtionatelv to chll- dwn of the urban wcalthy d h a t Africang(~vernmenhspnb putting onc studt-nt through four years of college could av for six vears of prtmnry iduration tora r l a s of 35 poor rural ~hiPdrhn.*~
In health ranb, t h r h ~ m e pattern eme es Sukidized urban hospitals take the lion's sharrof public heal% bldgets, hut help those who least net4 puhlir ashiotanw. Communitv-bad health wor&rs and rural cltnifl, thc bachhtne of s health care svstem that caters to the poor. are consistently underfunded In de\vloping countries as a group, slime 70-85 prrcimt of public health s nding goes into expensive curative care, while communitv h e a G and preventive care mmhincd m i v e only ISM) p e m t . b i
Reversing thedistribution of health expenditures would make the largest im nrvement in health possible given available resources. The ~orlt!~anlr estimates that in qenersl a lifecan be saved lor
"In 1989, the Third World owed 51.2 trillion--nearly hall ul
its colltrlivr GNI1--tn industrial country hank9 and Rnvrrnmtnlr."
A t thc rntt,rngltr)nal level, dcbt, Ir,ldr prt~teclloni+m 111 rndt r* l r~~~l counlr~t~s, .ind plummel~ng world prc1t8\ for the pr(du( I s drv~.loplng nations rkport ddd Iurther I,~ver> 10 Ihr pinertr trep ' lhc p r ~ t ~ r world's dcbl to thr rich 15 M) col;)\wl ,I, lo m ind *urr~,~I In IqHY, rhr l'hlrd World owtui 51.2 tr~llion:-nt~,trlv h.~lfol 115 t ~ ~ l l ~ r . I~vt.(.Nl'.. 111
~nductrlal cauntrv b~nks and g(%\t*rnnit*nl\, Argvnllna nwt.il .I rLIg. gerlngSI.H(X) for rath man, wuman,.~nd child In this ct~untrv'.'
The burden of debt IS mtwt wvcrt- (rn sumi-ol the Isr)rr%t ctrtlnlrIc% In 1987, Brar~l 's S124-b1il1on debt-the dcr,rlt~p~nl: wurld'? Iargcsl-was 39 prcmt of i ts C.NI: hul the I'hillpplni*' *mdllrr $70 billlon debt was 87 pn.ent (11 it+(;NI' And tmb~a 's puny debt ul $6 billion was 334 percent of its GNI'. In mcrrr grdphlc Itarm*. I( Ihr Zambian people. wrr r toglvr every canny thw rarnrd to f h r ~ r nation's frrrts~gn flnancttbrs hefi~nnlng [lnuar? l,.lVW, thry would trot eat agaln untll May of lW3 *
Staggering though the ahwlule qunntrttt- of deb1 my bt,, howt~~i.~, the prvotal issue I$ wh~ch way resources are mor Ing scrub* the Worth-South boundary k f o w IVHJ , the nel flow wau prcgrer*rve lndustnal muntrle vc more tudeveiu Ing countrlrr in Iodweath vcar than they toolrgLk In tntemt an8pnnclpal pa menla After ihst, the flow not only reversed itsrlf but hnamea barLard t m t by 1988, thefpnr were paying the nch 5.W b~llrcrn a edr The mdb~vc: dtversrun o resource tcr the North has taken a t o i no1 only on the people of dweioptng lands, but on the land ttself b r a t s have bcrn recklessly tcw-ed, mmeral d c p i t s carelessly mtnd, fragtle lands
ut t u tlw plot\-, and t ~ s h r r ~ t - h over-crploiQd, all to pa? foreign ln,lnclcrh F l c J f i I t ~ ~ ~ cnv~ronmt,ntal rn~nl*tdcs, lust as hcalth and t*dus,~tl(in dglBnl'll~S, hasst srcn t h e ~ r budge@ slashed under debt- drt\,,w austtmr~tv""
I'hr.dvbt trlslb hak 1t5 nulls in thr oil prlcc incuasrs of 1973 and 1979. H hrn prtrt>lC~~tii-raptrrt~ng countries direckd thetr masslvt, new 111tlow~ of ca\h tq.1 ~nduslrial <ountrv banks, and developing coun- trrt%. l~,tvrnl: Itnl laid out thtv money tohu oil, turntd to thehank\ t i ) btrrnnr some of 11 hdiL.. The bdnb.~, hnllng thrmselves floodrd w t h fund\, nfrrvd to enormoub, often poorly r~searched loans. .~llt~w~tigThir Wnrld gtrvcrnmPnts to maintain the flow ofresclurcrs Into the iliequ~tahle >pi-ndinp, programs and industriallzatlon ~chemt- 111t.v had hcrn pursuing almost uninterruptrd stnce indr- pndmctb.
Then. In tht* earl\. n htlc\, indubtrial nations tightened their money bupplttr to ,\):hi Inifatla", and the United States began borrnwin): 1ar.t. mounts to tinance expanding hudgct deficits. Dollars, yen. antdrutschrnarks all k a m e mow expensive for Third World cirun- Irieh at th t same tlme that lntrrest rates rose. Because many of the Itmns had bettn given with variable interest rates, debt payments skyn~keted . The Wnrld Bank calculates that each entage point rix in interest rates costs the 17 most heavily i n d e E countries 55 hillion a vcar*
A * Jcbt p ~ l r d on top ol developing economies, export earnings urnultant~wslv rollapsed from under them. Despite several gpcades of industri~ltzation, most developing countr:es remain heavily dependent on exgorts of such raw materials as t i d m and of such cash L as sugar, mtton, z%?z' and esl countries depend o x e s e primary commodities tor tc; fourths of their exports. Yet, since 1980. the prices for such goods have plummeted. particularly relative to the prices d the nunufac- tumd p d u c h that Third World cwntriesimpwt; in 1986alone thcy
bv a third in relative terms. translatin into a b for the t::f$rti world of $94 billion. Extludino pern,%wn pmducts, the
prlcch of 33commodit11.\ mc~nltored hv thc World BanL fell by 40 p'rwnt hetween I'fnOand l'fX7,sdtih1ng theThlrd World In t h v . r l ~ w r - y u w z c of rlslng dcht and 1,tlllng rarnlng\ (517, F~gurt* 4 37 Thedrtrrioratlon In thts " t rrmr of t r ~ d ~ . " bc .1~1~-n r ~ c h dnd this result of four ~ntcrlcrkin . trrndc. Ftr4, rlnt.t~ thl* deiddcf;;:~: slow cwnomic grrtwth In inkustrt.tl countr&, part~rnl.~rlv In lndo? trier that rclv hcavilv on Thud World raw matt,r~alr, ha* n;c<tat wr,th melrkrts for c o m m i ~ d ~ t r ~ s . Second, t l~ihnicdl drlv,~ntt*r h d r r I1.d ~ n d u s t r l r * to r rp la re developing country vxpt~rth w ~ t h t,ht*aprr Industrial country products Optical f~her s havt- rt.placcd cltpprr wire in telephones stems, fctr ~nstancc, d e c ~ m . ~ t ~ n g this marht=t lor the main export of J a l m and 7 ~ m b i a 111 *h.trut-tc~s ntrn *ynrp hdr replaced cane sugar In bolt Jr inks suck Citi~-(.(tI.!, r rdurlng nrorld cane demand hv p e r h a p ant-fourth."
Kising trade barriers in rich countrit? a n a t h ~ r d tsuw. I I ~ dcclinlng ttsrms of trade for ptmr land,. Thc Eump'an Econclm~c (ommuntty, for example, levlrs a tdrlff four ttmes a5 high agalnzt cloth ~ m p ~ r t e d from poor, heavily indebted natitrns as f r r~m rtch <mi?. Strict quota* In Europe and the United States on im rrts of bugar from develop- In countries raise the prices p a ~ d by t t i r own cr t i~ens, while cur- t a h n the market for s u g r e x p u r t e n by 57.4 btllion, at last ntirnatc. All to$d, World Bank fi ures suggest, each year l n d u ~ t n a l country trade barriers cost devefoping countrics 550-100 bllllon in lost kllcs and depressed prices. And fourth, the cruel logic of the debt cnsis itself has driven down prices for Third World export$: a s d o u n s ol nations racing t o kee up with debt paymenls d u c e importband boost exports, they g g t commodity mdrke(s, cxacnbattng the p r k c derlines."
Beyond the dinastmus trends in bank loans and international trade. devcloprng countries' oronolnic tu rmo~l has scared off rich country investors and incited n a t i o ~ l elites t o bundle their fortunes OH to foreign banks-when they are h iddm horn bwt lon and i n v d c d in the further enrichment of wealthy lands. Thed imens i~ l l lo l this- dus of private money am colossal. S o a l l e d flight capifal from Latin
IJ1' ' i,,,,,,,,~. kt, , ... ,51,?IXl
1x1-
I31 - 1111 - 11x1 - 'ti\ - K(1-
70 - >,>"r,r \\,srf,i f f iz td
1421 I T 2 1'474 1970 1'4% I W ) 1'382 1qM 1% IYIU(
Figurc 4: Commodity Price Index and Total Third World Debt, 1970-87
Amsrlra anlountrd to about $250 btllion h late 1987, and as U.5. Twasrrry k r c t a r v Nicholas Brad! has s a d "In man" ca&ight
ital is larger than outstanding debt." Venezuclbns' overseas Eh&ing"re valued at $58 billion, for instance, while the nation's external deht IS onl? $37 hillion.>'
Ascountries have foundered in the inhospitable world economy of the eighties. the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have pmmotd controversial ecvnomic reforms called "structural adjusr- ment." Structural adjustment is thought of hv its pmponentsas shock-treatment fore country's emnomy, g ~ i ~ k i y eliminating ineffi-
-1 he economy that mml nndm adjurtment ir the ~ l o b r l one."
Ijt.Iwrm 1480 and IYHH, s l~r t r r i q ciBull!rlc\ rcttbl\rtl li'rlfi.tcrnr *lrllc. IllrdI ~dlltbtni~111 I~dn, fr<1111 the IUprlJ lI,~nk. t \ ~ilvncv rlr#gv4r th.11 t l ~ r \ e * countr~r\ hd\.t. +hou,n ~ i ~ n i c r ~ t ~ . ~ l hrtter nirt rcr t - 4 tlntsnllt Iwr (r~rrilant.l, th,ln CI)LIII~~II.~ 111 \~rn~ldr \I~.IIILI t I i<~t ~ t l d not I ~ ~ I ~ l l t 11111
gr.rnrz. hi11 < r l l ~ c ~ cv~dc~ncc .rppt..lr\ 1,) ~<~n t r . r J~< t 11 lor vr.irntriv, ,I}) urzril hr.ncl~t\ from \tructur.il ,idlu,tmenf pt~lr, I(,\ nidv tw }vr - t~.rhv duc It) tHc~suhs~.rnt~~~l ncw Iodn* nlddrttr <c~unlr~c.* 'tgrrr,ln): t t ~ Ilallh and Fund trrm. 'I.hcri$ I* ntl ~IIIII~I, howrvc,r, I h ~ t .~d l~~*~nic~nt
dt . .ta4 h d v ~ brought rt.turn+ far ht.lor\ arl~rct.ltlon\ Onr Witrlcl g k ' h anL papr >peak> 01 c~dlustmcnl ,>+ "tsilng idr 111n~:rr ,lnJ nlvtnl:
Lrr mclrc arduous 1h.m i lr~grn~~llv expt.<11.d '' B e . < ,ct~s<- ut 11s 18L.n ~1r.1 conran rntB.l>urr\, \tructural dd,u\lrnt*nt m.1~ h.~vt. L.IU*I.~ IIII?I~
hrisad riot\ than ra\cs\ of cronumlt r l ~ l u \ t ~ n ~ t i i ~ ~ i '1
\Vor~-, c(rntrov~r3idl ~ v ~ d a n c i ~ ,I~CU~UI~I~III~ irvm <lrt~und lhc wttrld '.ugfie$ts t h ~ t rnanv structural .idlu*trncnt mi*.lrurl.s hurl thc portr d ~ r p r o ~ o r t i o n a ~ e l In Cu11-d'lvolrc., matrirccctnomlc c~dlu+tmcrrt madsurn have bwn aau~latcd wtth ,I war duuhllng ~ r f thr ~nc~d~.nti* of "hard con." po\rc.rtv, acrordln to onr World l4.1nk abbrsbmenl Case studir, carrlvd Aut bv uhlkEF In Ho~cw~na. Bru11. Ch~l r . Ghana, Jamdlca, Madagax-at Peru, thr I'hlllp In,.*, h u t h Korea. $11 Lanka, and Zinrbabwc show dvlmoratfirrr lntlulth, rduc.atr~,n, and living standards At the very Ica\t, structural ddlustmrnt hdr not been sufficient to counter the damaxe that debt and c,xpt~rl Iwxs base ~ m p n r d on the p u r [ ) r , t~n~u~X~rc~ bethtun the *tmptums of tht*a~lmrnt and theudr rf f tr t \c~l the lnlcndcd rrmcdv 8.a druntlna challenge, and one t h t ha, been long neglccld h l a l n f l y , thr world Bank has tnauguratcd 11s Scxral Dtmenslons of Adjustment I'njgram. with m a ~ h under way In 20 Afncan countnw '- The bas~c problem with structural adlu5tmmt. howtvtv, 13 nnt what ~t d m but what II LIIS todo YO rmpovcn5M natluncan reform ~b
\V,l\hlng!(~n, I) C' ) and falling prlcrs for its 801)d\ (eudcerbaled by tradts pol1~11-s In thz Eurclpran Economic Commun~t?). The wonom! lhdt most or-tls adlusfm~nt is the global one,Until that takes place, structural adju.itm~nt will continue to bc IHtIe better than, in thc r\,orrl\ ol L!NICFf:, "a rearranging ol the furniture lnslde the debtors' yr~uln.""
Thc ~ l o h a l poverty trap, w ~ t h its local, national, and rnlernational p r t s . I C the underlving cduw of mas5 destitution in a prosperou3 wc~rld. Yct pwcrtv has an inrreaslngly ecological face as well. The pcrc>r hdve long suflcrrd more than others from rnv~ronrnental dtulin~n Hut, In w m r ri~umstanct~b, poverty itself becc~mcs a cause 11t en\.irtrnmcntaI diugrndation, and as such takes on added signifl- c,lnrc tor ,ill of human~ty
Poveriy and the Environment
Most of the world's Imming environmental threats, from round- water contamination to climate change, are byproducts of ahuence. But poverty can drive ecolqical deterioration when desperate pa- ple overe~plo~t their ~ , w u r c e base, sacrificing the future to salvage the present. The cruel logic of crucial short-term needs forces land- less familics to put rain forest plots to the torch and mountain slopes to the b w Environmental decline, in turn, perpetuates poverty. as de8nc!ed eksysrcms offer diminishing yields to their poor#habi- tants. A self-frrdin~ downward spiral of economic deprivation and ecolo~ical degradation takes hold.
In the rural Third World, human reliance o n ecosystems goes unmediated hy the long chains of commerce, industry, and civil infrastructure that shape l i i in the rich countries. Fur the have-nots, food comes from the soil, water from the stream, fuel from the r d s , traction from the ox, fodder fmm the pasture, i d s to make mar? frwm t b sheam bank, h i t from t b t w c amunA the hue Poor
~ x ~ ) p l t , know that to cnd.)ngrr ,inv 01 tht-wa t h l n p 1s tu l rnprl l th1.111. ~ 1 ~ 1 5 , and the livt? of thrlr offspring. T h v eco1it)rnv 111 thr. rural pwlr 13 me.isurtd In thr tcr t~hty and pndut- l~vt ty of thrit.rtvrrt~nmvnt. 41 Awdrd-winning journalist H~chard C'ritchlleld, who s p n t a dtrrdt , Ilvlng in d o r m > of Thlrd Wi~rld villakr\, h-lievc* tht* rloua plrv+~cal reldtlonship w ~ t h the mvirclnmcnt r.rcb.itt.\ ol the lew niurlk uni- vtsr\al fcalun!s of vlllagc culturc~~ "M~lst vl l lagrr Iiavr .I I I I W - I I ~ t h r ~ r natlvc land, a d c ~ i r c to own land, an i n l ~ n h ~ dt ld~hfncnt 10 1h1.1r anct-stral soil . . a revcrenctp fur ndturr r n d toward hnbltdt ~ n d .inrestral wa *" I'wr farmcrs wlth uscure rights t c~ a plccp 111 1,lnd tend to care i;r it mc~t~culouslv, taking ,i Ion tcrm vtrw ilnd fr,rp,it. Ing current benef~ts for dependable luturc Ra!k ;4
The poor knowinglv harm their cbnvIrt)nment malnlv when undrr duress . I'ushed to ihe hrink CII starvat~crn,c.virlrd from familtnr lands, driven to the fnintier by the prcssurmof population growth, or deprived of alternative?; by misguldrd law%, thrv lack dC(l%a to sufficient quantities (if land, water, or capital to pn~v lde thumwlvr*, with a ~us ta inah l~ . l i v e l i h d .
Thus, the central pole around whlch the dawnward s p ~ r a l turns i* the lack of resources-the first element of th r I ( ~ a l vrrty Irap. An th ro ologist She ldon Annis o f the Oversea\ I ~ v r ~ o ~ m c n t c o u n c i r i n Washington, D.C., illustrates the c r u c ~ a l dlfferrncc
r but secure smallholders and d i s p a s r i w d and in r - :zI%d~ households:
In theGuatrmalan villane where I Ilved in the late 1970% I
lind, every sbrplus hour of iime, every chdnnel.c~f water, evwy angkof sunli t h h lhe Indians where l livrd IN rurelv poor, the own t f e ~ r own plots 0, land. They dPper;d upon andlore for what is thrin. When I go back to the vd*, always find that my himdr' tie* kuk llM ra P 7 1. ' *
11.n tlur. .1gt1 I .~lrc) worh~~d 111 (lt~l~ttmala's northern Otrlchr 1,r<~tti~c,. wIil<h Iltr mdnu rt5a\rin\ t \ rntdli ponrrr lhan Ihr h ~ u 11 k,hvrt. I I I V P ~ 7hi.n.. l rvtrll w,~lchli in hnrnlld l a w
42 11,11111n .1* dn Inrllal~ ldrn1t.r .111.1 h i \ + i l l ~ &trd lhr~r )I111 of corn cln .I k,r<.rlrd ~lopt. I-Itt* land wak \aht<r0p t11.1l thv stnn h,id It1 Iqc held In place, u ith ,I rt~pt' 10op.d arourR1 his w.llrl A, hv Itol~pcd Irtm lurntw to lurrtn\.. hl-.$sther Ict uul rl.~<L In+iit , ~ n ~ u ~ i J a trw u.tuni}7
\Yhrn I rr,urnrd ILI that +p,t rt\cntl\. I uv&\ nljl wrprlrcd f ~ i i i l ll1.11 1h~'ldrnicr dild hi+\on tvrnm no Ioqyr Ihc-ril ttn~l nu. 1ht.r a,,\* tht- Irill~idr Wh.11 rrnrdlnttl IV,IS .I rtlld~\h, vrocl~d auh- wh~ih Itr~lc~d lo<t I ~ l r lht.nc\t and Iht> nett and thc ncxt fitrfil~~r h~ll*itit, *'
l'hc dibpnh>t-sscd I,~rn\er th ,~ t Annih watched tn Quiche probably Lncw hrttcr than Annib Ii~niscll ho~v destructive hillstde fnrmln hut i,~cklng p ~ ~ d tarmlcind or other pnductivr rrsourccs, hc, h d j l ; chtltcu but lo t\plriit the onlv land ava,lablt~ to him.
Arnbs., tci ,i rrwurce without conmil over i t is calamitous. Nt~thins 11tcitz5 pcrrplr ti) de Itate Inrest>, bolls, or water supplirs faster than fedr they ~vill won rOZerlCC~%k h~ them. Nt.tther hired workers, nor hind rndiiaKcrs, nor tenant farmera car? for land as well as owners In Th.iil.snd's lorcsts, tor example, squatters given longterm rights to uw their plots caw frrr the land better than squatters w ~ t h no legal standing, hut not as well as thost who own their plots outright."
As the global pnvcrty tra tightens and the world's po! becomt. increasingly instuure and B i s p w s s e ~ . , the conditions for &lo ical desrddation spwad to more of the earth's fra ile lands. Two o! the most cornmiln sequences bv which poor f e fall, or are pushed inlo the downward spiral are i l lus t ra tedF$e situations in ~ e p i i i and Costa Rica.
Ncpal exemplifies the way sheer growth of human numbers feeds the spiral. when human ractices a t a given level of technology exceed the carryin* capac!ty of local environments. As population
'In Nepal, the health of r villqe'r children can be mad i n lhr r r l n r t i n ~
trrr line on %urrounding *Inper."
\\\ell\. presants In I i~yl i la~td vcilli,v\ ft,rc,ed to c\lran<l th6.11 11lwtr ontcl stt.tSp ft>ri-strd h~l l \~dt. \ . e~\lcnul~ng ~ ~ c L ~ I ~ ~ , I I I ~ . I ~ I\<>III~'II 1nll.1 n~.~lk to $"her tur-1 ,rnd t(dJt.r Ovt-r tht. p.~st Jc,,,~clt., JII~III~: \\III< 11 Ie,rts+t\ h s ~ \ v 5hrunb to halt i,t thcvrcrr1~1n.11 t r t v ~ ~ l , ~vrnlr.~~'. . i i + * r . ~ ~ ~ . 43 Jc~~l!, l l~ i t rni i~< h,~vv 111<rt,,1u*d rnclru tl1~111 Ilour I ' rnud tvr lunt", thor ~ v ~ ~ r k d j l y In thv 11t.16s shortens, I .~rn~ly tn,euno t.1lI5, ,~nd tkt~v h.ivt~ both Ir*\s tor~d tr,<(~oL ,inti Ics* tlnltk to(<roh I! Shuhl\ hlltn.~r onJ I),~vld H i i tchk~\ - (rt thr Int i~rn,~t~l ,n.~l F~wrd l'rvl~c s Kt.wc~rt 1, Inslllutc reLport nut ?~nl\ . thnt ddll!. food I onstln>}ltlcln 111 Ilir rv -1011
ha, fa l l~ t i hy 1(X)~dlor11~\ [,er p r w n on ca\c.rap.. hul tI1~1I.--111 t,lhtjil.
r l g l 1 d h i malnulr~t!r>n ratt.rand dt~tort*\tat~on r.lttac drts rlou4v coup114 In the. hill rcylonc Yq11. III ~lthvr ti~arJ*, fhv health 01 e v~lI.~ge'., i l i~ ldrt-n ran h. reall I~I tht. re.trtv!lnR trrv Ilnv(*lr +urrcrunri~ng s1opt.s
M'hrrc p u l a t ~ r ~ n dc*nstty i+ It.++ a<-utr. than III %I+ +kc,r\,vJ IdnJ ownrrs ~p pattern!, hare thv \amt* i~ttc~~t--largi b?by"y% arv undrr- attended, small hctldtn 5 <r\t*rhnrJcnrJ. <tnd mtllrrv~~s Irtt I.III~~I+* The g r ~ ~ w i n g rank5 of tk ! di;pe,s\e\rd mnke uv- 11, wh.~trvt.r ~n l r r . ttlc land I:. not taken by uther5, and stlutr.rr'az much IIUI of t l '1% p1+.
sihle, fearful of tx~th ~.vic-tlon and \tar\.at~rin. In C rnt,r Ktca. a uluntry oiten praised for it5 cnlightenrd environmentnl poltclc.r. thc, plclr have been driven into thir state largi*lv hv r cattle hovm that ha* swept the natlon slncc the varly q1xf117
Costa Rica was once almost cornplt.tely cloaked rn tnr tcal frlriA+t. holding wtthtn its small confine perha * 5 Prcrn l of a1 plant. anl. mal, and i n x r t s p r c i ~ on earth. By ISIH[after tw80 dcrrdrrcrf 6% 111 sire growth in the cattle industry,b\rurt% covered r lu@iy b.b 0;
the nation's arable land, onlv I percent of thr l iriglndl forrsl remained, and soil erosion was rampant.
Sheldon Ann~r', dda~ l rd analvsts ul thc rattle p l l r ~ t - o l Cmta RI~J s h o ~ that as~dr from ~ t s ecolcw~cal toll. the cattle h x ~ m ha\ hem .in economtc debacle as well lt'kas d r~uen not su much by market
heav flows of ~ntemat~onal cap~tal to, and spc.ctdl ttrat- %?~,%e 2,& polltlcally pnvcr(ul ranchns f a m l l u who con-
trt~l tlie industry: During thr past two decifdes, cattle ranchcr, cot
l~rrzd tiedrlv 40 perct.nt of all agricultu$l credit but roducrd warcrly prcent of agricultural output. a e y continued'recctvlnfi 44 lo,in~ cvcn when thev did mrt pav off theifkerlier ones. Thc 1tip11t\ t h y ttnpnrtd wc*rtS untaxed or uidrrtaxc.dcTheir'c.x rts *up- ported wtth ,I tinnt~ply of enerous incentives. A n G e i r concern\ %'t-n-<1~1cb to rtuch th; hafsof tht lagricult~e min~stry, which wcrr. <rlten '15 not. >t,~ftt'd w ~ t h other cattlc ranchels.'"
Thr Cost.1 Rrcan pwr, for their part, have oaly gotten hun er out nt the drLil. Smallholders have been pushed from their l d n f t o nrnh trfnv klr four-legged competitors. And rural employment opportunl- 11e.s dricsd up, hcmusr r,*nching 1s the least labor-intensive agrliul. tur,ll act iv~tv in the countrv. The rising tide of landlessnesr hd* s~1l1r.d nverinto the ex anding cities, onto the fragile slopes, J ~ J Into thr forests, where lmilies Iet't with little choice acceler~lte the treadmill of detorestation."
The povertv trap patterns evident in Nepal and Costa Rica-popula- tltm $rw"t; dnd unrqual contnrl over resourcrs, reinforcd hv coun trrpriJtr;trr r drc.clopment ~ i r l j r ~ r ~ - r e a n ~ t ~ a r rn lnf~nite varidth~n. aniund the world. ~ e i the n d effect is uni;;rsal: the rare increas- ingly concentrated in fragile regions where land i s E t productirc and tenure least secure-arid and semiarid lands, mountain slop, tropical forests, and sprawling shant towns around overcrowd4 cities. The geographic concentration orpoverty in inhospitable land\ is driven partiallv as people move in, but more so by the hei h t e d population grokth rates p v e r t y itself brings. Inevitably,tk m pulled inlo the downward spiral in growing numbers. I.% Leonard of the World Wildlife Fund-Conservation Foundation In Washington. D.C., has attern ted to roughly quantify this trend using data from the World l a n k , the United Nations. a n d the International Food Policy Research lmtitute.m
Leanard's estimates focus on the poorest fifth of people in develop ing countries, a subset includin about 780 mi!lion of the absolute poor. He calculates that 370 miifion of these p e o p l d l percent of
'With uncanny rcgulrrity, the world's most impovrrirhed nginns r iw
suffer the wont ecolo~lcal damrgr.'
thi- ~otal-live on mar inal or fragilr lands, whc+rv, ,I! ~ihi,~v'\ rrpcl iatlon densities, the ifownward s p l r ~ l 15 almost ~nr\ .~t ,~h' l t< 11 thli ratlo holds true not just for thr poorest fifth of p(.<~plv In Ih{~'T'hlrrt Wtsrld, hut for the entirc class of people In absolutr ppvcrty, thr~r 'inrr 45 mllllon of the 1.2 b~llioti people In ahzolutr poverty artb now tr.1p~x4 Iri the bpiral. Many others suffer from e~rvironmt~n~al dtbgr.~d,~t~rrn. Rut the impact on thcir living standards 51, far h n b hc.vn mtgrr 11n11trd."
zurvey of the globe supports I.eon.~rd's andiys~s \tronglv Wltli lrncdnny regularity, the wc~rld's most ~mp<rver~sh~d rc-g~on+alvj uul- f r r the worst ecological damage; maps of the two arc alrno.1 1n1c.r. thangcbable. In Third World cities, thc oorlibe In 5hmtytor\,n* thal 5prawwl through insect-infested floc>dpLins, u i c r ~ I ~ ~ s *Io)hl. and druund hazardous industrial plants. in China. L a , I'ak~zt.ln. and l \f~hanistan, the impoverished 11ve In degraded *emlard and drld region5 or in the crowded hill country burmundlng the IIlmalayd\. Chlnrsr poverty is particularly concentrated on the Loesb I'ldI~du,
is eroding on a legendary ~ a l e . ~ 2
I n the Philippines, the northeast of Thailand, and the bas~llr of the great Amazon and Congo rivers, the r ~ r w r a p out a livelihc~d In '"en plots burned from vanishing grests. in Latin Amerlca. (hey live in the wasted lands of Haiti, on the exhausted soils of northcast- t'm Brazil, and in the gully-riven highlands of Central Amerlca and [he Andes. In Africa, they inhabit the arched plains south of thu & b r a . the overcrowded slopes of Ethio ia, Rwanda, and t ) u ~ n d t . and--by political d e c r e c t h e inhospitabre drylands in the wuthern reaches of the continent. The legacy of colonialism for the African Population of Zimbabwe, for instance, has bwn the n g h ~ to farm the most remote. unprodudive, and fragile lands. Likewlu, black b u t h Africans are relegated to infertile s t u b euphemistically calid tribal homelands b the ruling whites; the majorit of b u l h Afr~cans are thus as d d a n c h k d environmentally as tiry a n potiticallpRs
%Same f o m that have p s h e d 580 million people into the down- ward spiral-lack of secure control over resources. paputation
jin~tith. Innlulty. dnd mis~uidrd pollcies-arr largrlv rilsponh~hlr (tlr 1111' d ~ t ~ r ~ ~ ~ r , i t ~ ( ~ n I I ~ ~ i ~ n a g r i c u l t ~ r a l Ill&. l'hrouahoi~t hlstnr\. PIIW ptv Ir 11.1via drawn upon a rrsourcc b 8 e f'ir lar er than thclr
46 OIVII l.~n,!l'lii,v g.~thcr fruit\, nut', h h , game, roo!c, fc,auc*s. hhvrh. rilt.dh, d u n s . and rv~rod Iron1 \o-cC1llud common propvrtv rrs(ii~r~,t~~-hill'iLlr Ilrrttsts and I~~wland swamps, rivers, rivrrhanks. .inti Ilood rI.lin'. I.~kt's dnd lakc shorc*s, opcn rangt~l.ind and drnsc ~ ~ I C L C I I '&c5t7 ,hrts,I\. ofton thought ~ r f ,is rnipty,a.art~,\ hv thc brttt~r ~ ~ t t , ,lrts .I crluc,ll hdtt.t\ . ntst Ir~r the pour, prclvidtn): d tdllhack mib.ln< of s t~r r~va l , l,~rt~cularlr: in h,ird 1imt.s In dryland rtsgion\ of 1ndi.l. thi* prtir gatker on~-filih 01 their d~i l l~ , i l Incmt., along wtth numet- OUL nonniarkt~ltxt g(x~ds, by h,irvt*ht~ng the natural product5 01 corn- riron an.,^?. &'
Over genrr.ltlons, most agricultural and f~shing vtllages dnd pas- torarl hdndst*colr-rd intricatecodcsof cclnduct toavoid depleting tht* common3 iqwn which they dl, ended For exam le jirnrr'itlcrns ot pwr, nlostly hlark ~razilians w i o lost out in the $~;tatitrn economy crf Urizrl's ~nrpor~r iuhed Northcast wandered into the mangrott. w a m p thdt stretch 1,(W kililometcrs south from the city of Salvador. Thiw, undcknoirltdged hv statc authorities, they formed an under- grnund soclal and ~ ~ o n o m i c world h i l t on thesustainable harwst- ilia of coastal fisheries. The fisheries arc effectir~elv protected by b t r~np~nt dppwnt~cnhtp nyulremrntc that limtt the n h b e r of fish- em and hv dt.tatlcul tt.nttor~al, *asnnal, and tidal rights to c~tt* ''
Similar nwurcc management regimes have traditionally protected p r r p v p l ~ ' s envimnments in much of the world, though t k v var- ied in their effectiveness and impact on social equitv. Yet in vast areas of the Third World, common lands-whether foifsted slopes, drylands, or coastal zones-have k n turned into private property or hecome heavil dqradrd . or both. In India, the decline in area is well documenteg. N.5. jodha of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tmpin in Pantancheru, India, found the area of Indian dryland commons to have shrunk bv 26-63 percent since 19% in the Nl villages he studied. Their decline in productivity was equally dramatic.*
Ccl~nmn~il . i~~d\ a,~lrldrv~tIc h < ~ v c hctw ~ ~ p p n r p r ~ ~ ~ l r d hv 111,. I,lrtu~r.~tt.. lurnlng a puhllc r t ~ ~ o u r r c ~ntcl .I prl\'dtc~<lrle Ihrlrlhuhng ~on lmt~ t r .Ire.is to the I,indlibh5 rn~glit hc a h(nln Ivr hot11 t I 1 t 8 vnvlrolirnt.nt 'ltrtl
lilc poor, hut thit pri!dll!dtio~~ of l l i ~ . \borldfb ,ornmnn< h.1.. bran 1.11 from cvcn-h'1ndt.4. Jodli.i'sstudv LVI Indldn drvl.lnd L I I I I I I ~ I ~ I I \ I I I U I ~ L I tlldt ot'vr thv p'i5t threcdciadtc, mart. thdn h.111 I I I 1111. t~,ninior1 pr,qt. crlv Jibtrihntrd th r~wgh Ihv governnl~'nt ,igr.lrl.in rctorm yrt+Kr,llti Il,~s c.nd~,d 11 In tho 11,inds (11 those rvho alrt..ldv I I W I ~ \ ~ g ~ r ~ l ~ r a r ~ t ~ lu~n t l t l c s of&nd. Cum~nundl p,~\ turr ~n l i l t wvdnn,ili (11 Ikrlrnan,~. ~n~ . i i iwh~lc , ha\ hcen iclicrd hv l,lrxv r.~nchtr\, w ~ t h ~ ~ l p l i o r ~ Ifon1 this \Vorld Bank. Mdnv CO-cdllpd land rtlt~trmb In I.dt111 Arnt.r~cd hllvc himply crp~ried thr Furdl undrrclds* ttr ,I f rag~lc r.l!n Ior~.st fronllvr. \vlit~rc nt,w wttlvrs ra\njic (cco\vsttm\ prvvir~u\lv rn,inapxI l19r xvn- tnrdtions bv trihal p r ~ ~ p l t , ~lrno; l rv~tlivut vxct,ption. th? ncl ~.fltsl 111
5tatc land pc~ l i r~cs ha* hven to 'd rds t~~ ,~ l l \ curlall loninlon p rupr lv rux~urces open to thc p(rlr, w l t h ~ u t cxp,lnding I ht,lr [)r~\~ltt.propl.rlv rcvlurct% rommcnv.!ralriy.h:
A\ commercial Interests ~ncroa t h on crjrnrnon rtb*twnk* tr.rdlllr~n.il I!. rxploitcd bv subbistencc or near-sub51rtenria u\csr\. Ihc rruiurii.* art.often depleted rapidly In the lndlan coastdl r l d t t ~ c ~ f Ki+r,~l~. (du, and Karnataka, 150,000 peoplerrrrn thrrr living In 5rnnll-ualv, 11l1n. nlotor~xed f~bhlng. lnlri;du;t~,,n I I ~ rnrthdnircd t r ~ h l c r . In Ihr u . r cnllr* b t l h r d u r c d the (~vl ' rd~l har\e\l t ~ t macLcr~~1 and J r \ d * t ~ t c d the livelihwdof tht.pin,r, &auw thC trawler*rxttwird thc ruslaln. able yteld of the fishery. Hundnds crf the Hrarllian f~bhing c r~mmun~- tic% alrcadv discussed, along with their rounterpdrts in Inrlonr%ld, thc Philip 'ines, and c~lsrwhtve, have heen s imil~rlv ~ m p u v ~ r t s h r d by unregulterl and unsusbinable comrnurcial f i b h ~ n g . ~
The deter iorat ion o f common areas I S somrtimcs most d ~ r c c l l y causcd by the brrakdown of tradltiunal managcmenl rt?gimca that takes place as overnments nationalize the r twurc r b a w o r inter- vene obtrusive& in its use. Since the h i n n t n g uf thts century, newly independent nations freein themwlve5 from colonial bonds hove followed th path of their c$niuri. codifying in law the old palicy that common rrsources are the domain of the wvererp. A l a d e d
ct~ntr,ldictorv legal rights and ov~rla~~ing~urisdictions, oftcn corn- hlncd rr.rtli i-cak or rorrupt ministries and FourtS, has undercut thc
q8 au~h i~ r~ ty and legitimacy of traditional management regimes-and thcribhv poor pc~)plv's control over their reshrce hase-without prtl. vldln): a wc~rkahlc substitute. I'redictabl , t$ese fdiled policies hau. Irft thv rich richer, tbr poor prx~rer, and tie denuded
In thi* m)rthrr~r Sahc.1 region of Mall, for ex&plr, villages trad~tion- ,illv mlorcc.d lor,~l rcstricticln.. on tree cutting for sheep and goat foil- drr hy confiscxt~nf '~nd slaufihter~ng the hest breeding male of the otftsnder's flock. h15 pun~shmcnt, swift and harsh, kept lorest. 1nl.ic1 over ccnturle5. When government foresters began to implr- nirnt the nationallration of woodlands in the late sixties, however. r.ilL .rrs who cnforced the trad~tional rules became liable for break. irig tkt* law .lnd I'iced stiff fines. National law does forhid cutting of many trres, hut villa ers rarelv report offenders to forest guard5 . who, art.ord~ng to antRropologl;t Joshua Bisho . "after tax collectors . . . .lnithr state agents most likely to visit a viEage, and most likely to dem.)nd nioney."*"
Likrwrse. in the African Sahel, burning of rangelands to get a fresh flush of jir.ass has been practiced for centuries, yet it is no longer con- trolled hv locdl mechanisnls, and therefore runs rampant. Meanwhilr, lntrrnationally supported programs to drill wells for a y m a n a n t water su ply in the re ion have backfired, because all erdrn arenllowtd fee access to tke water. Without the traditional
rc~ntrvls to Ilm~t the number of stock p w n t at a waterlng s~te , t h w t u k well+ haw become the centers of defoliated wastelandslocallv referred to as "rings of death." M.S. Swaminathan, p s iden t of thh International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, writes, "Restoring to the community the responsibility that was originally its own may be our only hope for the future pro tection of our soil, water, fisheries, pastures, forests, and wildlie.""
Poor people's control, or lack of it, over trees is a particularly ne Iected rompanent of the poverty-envimnment spiral. Like lend an8 livestock, bees are econclmir assets that provide a "ow of bene-
"Many no-called land nfonna in Latin America have simply
exported the rural underclass to a fragile rain fonst frontier."
tlt+-lnclud~ng fruit, fodder, shade, soil rcgencration, collstrui.tlon materials, and fuel. Likc other assets, !hey also can hvsold In Ilrnv<
( 1 1 nred, a use growing in importance as thc pM,r Irlw* Ihnr tr.ldltio11- '\I *afety nets and become more vulnerablr.
-1 poignant illustration of the function of trees as Insurdncr n1mcS* Irom Bangladesh. In the early srventles, the fdmtly of Ahu . ~ n d s h a r ~ t a suffered a long str in of imp~ivcr~qhing m ~ \ f o r . tu~lrs-famine, illness, loss o8inht-rr ted land in e tamrly $nnflict-and was forced to sell off oneassrt aftt~ranothcr to +urvlvt9 p\ftcr sl l ing their plot, cow, farm implements, furniture, and r.tr.~*l- rv. Abu and Sharifa resorted to cutting down thc~r two tree\ to mar- ket thcm as firewood.
After striking a root with his hoe. Abu motions krr K U ~ I lh19 wnl tu move away and pushes the jackfru~t trw A* it trltlrr* to the ground, hrs eyes f i l l , but ht. checks the tear\, starmy numbly at his wife and son. . Abu chopsanulhcr nml, and conhnues, "There is no ncc In my household dnd I have $ 1 1
children to feed. In Iune I rut down m y man n tree. dnd now I am chop ingup my jackfruit tree. Mv chfdren wlll nrvrr eat frult-!ow can I afford to buy it in the ba~aar? Rich prq*
le in this country don't understand how my rturnach Eums."91
and Sharifa's plight is tragic but in one way they are foflufiak: they areallowed to cut and sell their trees. Many governmrnts attempt to protect forest cover b regulating, taxing, or prohtbilin~ tree cutting, transport, or sales. h e i r efforts, however, m counter- Pmdoctive, leaving poor people little incentive to plant or care for their trees. P m r people are ratumal: if they were encouraged to plant
but not allowed to own, harvsf, sell, or mnsprt lt. l h q would not grow r iw either. Some of the areas most ~ v e r e l y denuded of t-for example, parts of Haiti, Africa, and India-hve s u f f d deforestation in part becauseTpwr people, e s e l l y P r have few rights to trees. (See able 6
Wood markets are also commonly distorted by a thicket of tW
tvliurv rule\ In pdrta (11 ladl,~ wlicrc zomrncrcC ~n wood I\ h ~ g h l ~ rr,btr~ittd, onl\, owrrful trddrrs <,in hritx* pOl~cc and gtst arrav w~th f 1 1 1 c * p l tr,i!is1t I our rcaarnt wlic) vow thetri~cs, conse uently, grt 50 ,i, Itttlt~.~, on,-t,)urtk 01 tliepr~ze tf;-ir trtx~u.sft~tch in nia&i*ts nht fdr .i\r..i\.. 111 Wt'st Afrlcr, peas.lnt, \omtat~mes *ll st'lndlng trt-ea for a* htrlt, C I ~ I 7ment ot lhib tindl rre, because they lack the equipment to uit ,InJ h.1~1 t~mbrr d~id tRP fT1~1id~ in h@h plnrrs lo hrlp them oprr,ltit +uicc\slully 111 the underground cccp~oniv. In Hn~ti, hy c1~1- tr,irt, $1 thrivin rt,fort.stallon Frograni o w * part rt;f its succesa to giv- ing t,irrnrr. hrh right, tocut and st4 thc~r trees dl w~ l l . F,lrmerb havr pl,intr4 nion7 trws than crptvtcd and 111t down ivwrr, prcfcrring tlip Inhur,incl.oI atanding trtxas tocash fnini ~ m d i a t t ~ s a l t ~ . ~ ~
kvrn \vhcrc poverty 15 nut ,I c,ruht, of cnv1ronment.11 decline. ~t IS a t~ckct to hutfrr rn\'~ronmmtal abuse5 c'~uaid by others. This 15 partli- ul'lrlv ,i]zy,lrcnt .imung thr f~ l th of thv 4u)r who live in urban area5 Thv poor t,t Mexrco City. SPcr I'auln, lhanghai, ~alcutta, Bombay. Mdt1il.l. I.dg~>, CdlrO, and the other mammoth c~tirb of thr Thlrd World lace all the m\.~mtiment.~l rrtls uf underde~*elopmc.nt a l o n ~ with tliosc (it ovcrdc\'elopment, :heir cookstoves fil l their hovel. with cild-f.ishiond smoke, multiplv~ng thc danger of wspiratorv div razr5 such (11. tuht~lr-ulmis that mn.rampant through crowded slums. while in !he stmsts thev breathe mcdern varieties of air pollution In concmtrat~onz that rival the worst recorded in ~ndustrial lands. Isching adequate wwerdse and water supplies, thev drink and bathe in water rnntam~nrtcd with both human and chen&al wastes."
Thc shantvtuwns of thr poar are found in areas eschewed bqthe t r r nil: i n flocldplains, on stee slopes, around-sometimes in-garbage dump containins unriown quantities of toxic materi- als. .ind near industrial zones. The fact that Bho I's victims were overwhelmingly poor was no coincidence; in&trial accidents worldwide take the lives of thow who cannot afford to live far from the belching stacks."
The disproportionate exposure of the poor to pollution and har- adous materials has oonealmmt unmeasured in the Third World,
Tahle 6: Tree Tenure Rights in Selected Countrip+ and Regions, Late E i g h l i e ~
CounlrytRegion Rights of Poor to Trees - -- - . - . - -. . . . . . . . . . .
51 I n,nth.*ph~nc <,~~\crnrnm.n~~ sl.ncr.~llr tlrlrn.aii t nw .t, llwtr i,un
Alnca 4nd ,LIIw l,trrnt~r*l,nct~l I l ~ t ~ m ~ ~ t ~ l ~ , ~ # I u ~ ~ , ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I I v I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ '1 l . ~ h ~ r ~ m ~ * \V~~TUI ~ K L W I vil~nv ~.nIu.d~l,~ qw, r ~ . s G , ~~r~ththrtv., c~l.ru.jJlrt): t,trtlltv* lrulr, 1\1.)tltlnf 1113-rr1 Amit-l lun-t * ~ v r d r In \ICI?< Ih.tr~c L 1I1.s~i.r. Ihph 111111 h>r ~ ~ l ~ ~ ~ ? ~ ~ l h ~ ~ ~ :
%u~I.tn h,n?l 1.n~~ f)r(thd-~l lrvr. l ! ~ l l l n ~ )% 1tt,#tt>1 1 ?rn,+\12,,1 Irom lhr Ihal I~tn-t c,lf~~v t.rrt,l,l u1a.n t!l.:<rlr!gfirt@#i#tcf 1~11 < ~ l l l l d l l l ~ ~
1 lhr<p~n (,c~r.rrnmvnLhnd ~.d~*t r th~tr , l l 1ol.srpc rl,tl+, run <ttli'.clt\.r I,brm. III lu:4 Ih.11 p,i%.#nl. * ~ l h ~ ~ t t l lo!,): lrrrn r~yhlr 10 ~ndnxtlunl pLrll i , dc-lnl,~~~): thr ~tt~t.nl#tc. 1'1 ~ L l n t tnr-
hrnvj In u~nw Anus, ~LLIIIILUUI L~wJII. 1.11<, IILII !,nl) nwn h ~ c n g h l ~ l ~ t l r t x ~ ~ . \ r n w h s l * < ! w e .rrr~.!l~rn\~~l land nghh hn ug\men. pl.~ntingInr~ rmurmllnu-. uvn+ldcrcd i nsuh~n l l n~ l~ {n by nl.slc h.v,ru~hrmlrl h..uI*
Inch4 Wh~ls tnv* tmurv ldur awl prag I I ( ~ vnlrlv Imm rlalr hb\tnlr. wtrd tram *I .lnJ 4- rrr 'ernmmlv m r n < l d M ~ t h d . n u ? r n t 2 rr~uldl l tsr In u tn r >onz~ul l ln~ lnra nyum? .o Irm.rl d tp~ r imml prmlt. &a~n<d lhftw 4 ltmr c t t t s
$ u r n ~ n ~ pn rns tlwr ~ d k n !nvt,he.r!kh% Halt, I t ~ s l ~ ~ n ~ a l i v , ~ wrb<d hub rc%lrr~tcJ. pnh~h t t~J , i~ r
h t~ar~lv l a i d tnr,ru~t~nfi I'erh~nt.idlkd tn i - r t rn rm thr;r own land ~wrbi,u Irs(g<wt-rnmnl I n n 1 Lcral I n m dgcnt3 n~ll m l ~ m la%n.nnnpllln& E w n b lual lxq 'UI thvr ~ r rn~uwq~ t tums lyo r
k"ffuMk H d u r a , Felbng tm% wtinnal m w r m cd lh l b d u r a n
Fcrml Rwckgnwnt FTnrlwm tsa cnm r v r n I tn l a m on pnvatr b d
blpm 1- knlmmn and w ~nrs, ~RWM'&!M#W ~hnWl*WIh d I~IWF (Bm&7,G*, W ~ M W Ra. 1% I'd Wunan TbGrmrrnxd AhuaiNu* York P e q u ~ n bob, 1 9 0 . Ro&n C Iumbmdnd Maw Irach. "Tm*uj S r ~ n g r a n d S m P n y L o r t k r r t u n l P r n . ' ' W ~ , H J 17,So 1,IWC,
but wlnc ided (11 ite magnitudecan heabws)rd by examining thevt- u'ltion In thr U n i t ~ J Slatcs. Nrighhorhoo&hy-nei hborhood cwn. plriuui\ of Incomv Icvcl, mcC, and toxic w k t e sitefncation R . V C ~ ~
52 cI~+turb~ng hut rcdlctable pattern. The pdnrer the neighborhood. and t~irddrkvr t["skin of itsrt,sidcnts, the&orelifely it is tokntaar .I I O \ I L ivahtc dump Three-klurths nf hazatdous waste landfill* In the American South~dst are in low-~ncome, hlack neighhorhoodr. ,ind nIorts Ihdrl :lalit~f all black and flispnnic Amrrlcdns Il\.e in conl- n l ~ ~ t i ~ t ~ r s wth Icast one ~ O X I C waste i t r . In the United States as ~n thCThlrd World, the rit.h grt rlcher and the pxlr get p~i.wned."~
l 'hc cnvin~nnicnl,ll \.~ct~mizatitin of the poor extends hevond local hdtdr~i. The trulv glohal rnvironmrntal dangers, climatr change and t~roncdt~plcln~n, \+rill rndangcr everyone, hut the prmr are likely to zullrr th~- most. Spnding almost all of the~r days outdoors under t11t~d1rtr.t ray\ (if thc wn, the rural pcxir will exposrd to far murr 01 thc i~ltrd\.inl~t r'ad~ation that is projected to reach the earth's sur- ~~~~r ~t the orc~ne lavrr IS further depl r td . If. as expectrd, ultraviolet radl.illon ttbnds t c ~ rvcakm the human h d y ' s immune s stem, ozone dcplctlon ci,uld rpdl the end for millions of poor chlrdren, whose hungrv, d~scaw-wracked bodies alrcadv have little resistance to 111- nc** 6ilccts of Increased ultraviolet radiation on food and cash rrnp art, larjiclv unknown, hut even slight harvest reductions could hrvr catastrnph~r effects on those who live at the margins of sur- vival.'+
Mort. t rouhl~n \till are the potential impacts of global climate change caused% the accumulation of heat-trap ing gremhouse gases Low-lvinkctiuntries such as Ban ladesh, &Ypt, Indonesia, and Thailand could lose large areas o?rropland as seas rise and storms hecome more severe in the next 30-40 years. Many of the world's most pnductive agricultural areas will suffer higher heat. d u c e d rainfall, or hoth, increasin the frequency of massivecrop fa i luw. Storms, floods, droughts, t e a t waves, famines, and social upheaval--all Likely to be c u m m o n p l a ~ in a greenhouse wwld-are precisely those events that tend to make poor lng them to sell their few u(. or go deeper in !ky 'Om
"In the United States rs in the Third World, the rich get richer
and the poor get poisoned."
In ,lddition, climate change could d~vrr t rcsourctl\ ,lw,~v Iron1 the* ~'uor on a scale unima inable today The debt hurdtw ot'thr r~sl i t . IW-on which UNICE~ blames the death 111 h.llf a nlllll<tn c1rrldn.n per yrar-could be dwarfed hy the cl~matr burden (11 thr twcnlv. 53 Ilryt cvntury. Health, education, and in tip overly hudgt,~* wtluld pruhablv bt. slashed as govr.rnmcnt% plur hundred* of btllrc~n\ 111 dollar!. &to sea walls, new irrlgatlun svstcms, flc~xl yrevt~nt1~111, .ind the countless other pn)ject\ that would h, nweswrv 111 mlnlml/r thr rlrhs 01 scscldl and'l~conomrr collap*~ 1 h r o u g l i ~ , ~ ~ ~ hr*lt,r\, hdrd Ilrnt.. hai.1- aimort aIwav\ wldrncd thc XAI, be1wtr.n rlc h .lnJ twrr
With prrhaps 580 million pcwr pnple trapped in lhv vurlek (11 t.ct~ nlrmlc and environmental deterioration, the futurv t ~ l vivcrtv dllrvl. ~1t1on-and of environmental protection -will contain unprvcr. denled challenges. The numbers of people already suftrrin from en!,ironmrntal deterioration, many of whom are nc~t poor%v lhv rtrlcl definition, are large: In 1984, the I1vrl1huod~ i i f $50 million p%r-
P' e were estimated to be at risk due to dwrtificatlon In I'M, acute uelwood shortages were estimated to afflict 100 mlll~on E~mc
million of the world's highland res~dents arein pvpardy Irom moil erosion and deforestation. Another 200 miillon tnhabrt lrnpical forests, where fires rage through the dry months. In the world'* cities, more than 1 billion pwple breathe air chokrd wrth excvssivr uantities of suspended particulate matter.w
?f climate change, soil erosion, deformtation, and pupuhtitm growth continue along their current trajectories, the poverty rate will a l m t cerlainly skyrakct, perhaps doubling worldwide by the second half of the next century. n other words, wit@ mdpr chan In licy at eve level, fmm multilateral instilutlons to the smalEt v i E p half orhumanity could be living in absolute poverty eome tlme between 2050and 2075.
Whatever the numbers, thete is no doubt that if destructive envimn- !ncntal hmds arp not conholled, many millions mcm will be pl*d mto the maekom. Convenuly, i f the global poverty trap is Mt d i e
nrantli*J. tlii.ria wrll hc 1111 w.iv to c.ontrt~l th) growth ol di,+t-rts , ~ n d d i r . i l ~ ) ~ - ~ r ~ ~ i ~ ~ ~ o l fi~rt*+t\, ~ L I p ro t t~ t Iiill~r~lr\ gr ~*,t*tl,~nd*, or prt.crrvt. t lu -d iv imr \~ tv ot I11i.iIn tvrtlr Wlthr~ut drdmdtrc dctrotr \ o ~ n . tht. 54 L~,IU nw.ird ,prr,l ill c~ont lrnl t dt*pr~vdtroir and i.n\ r r t~n i i i cn t~ i l d ib~rcidG~tlon i i ~ u l d . i t . r~~ l~>rak out 01 rt~iitrol, ckctint!ig thr Ior\ot iSicr int!rta l,rtid dnd 11vt4.
"1)uring this t i i i ~ r ~ ~ ~ i l ~ n r ~ l Cdrnplgti\ \\'c. \VCR told that d t - v r l ~~pn i i ~n~ \v<~ulrl n i r~ i n hctlcr Iivtng ci~nd~tronh be\'c~al ve,ir\ Iidvv con' hv, ri~i~l JII ! \~~~u.~~~iri . fct ,plt .c~~niing lrrini thr capitdl to wrrtr ah~u t uz 1.or mcm thc h11c .in' thv watcsr pot \vh~th *crved niv jirandni~~ther khll rt2m.rlii mv wurcc ol I1vr1ihtu.d. \Vhi*n I wtwk onthr I.ind .rnd Irtch w.itc*r trttrn thr rivcr. I k n o ~ I ~ a t i eat. But tht+ Jc\.cIo nicnt wh~ch vou t a l l ehoul hd. vet to he 3 1 ~ n rn Ihts vrllagt* ''I'm' fhPbt~ word,,
ohm 1.v a ht.nv.in \\,tlnr,an GI ~ C C . I ~ L - ago, r ~ m a i n true fur m ~ s t of tlI3 worl~f,\ p w r
N.itn)nal dcv r l opn i~~ i~ , while ht.ncttting themiddleand upprclass- 1,s he1ndsornclv, hds cither helprd the poor 11 t t l ~~ or actually hurt tht-m. Yet the mthanb ,lnd rneth~db are dl hand to alleviate the worst aapvts ot pwertv Amurid the world, public and private lnitiativn Ir,~ve crtb,~lc~d hundreds o i rnnovati\>c wd 5 to pry open-if only slightlv-the jawsol the pvtrrtv traprand t ius to reverse tIhedoN8n- \v.~rd spiral. Turnrnji this poientidl into a rraltty, however, w i l l require national governments and rnternat~onal agencim to d e f i n e devrlopment goals. It wi l l aiwr ns uire decisive ~nternattonal action on dangeruub global t%unomic an2 envlnmmentdl trends. -v
Thrrssrnce ot true develo ment is distillrd i n Mahatma Gandhi's concept oirnf,wmt#y~: [rue Jevelopment puts hrst thora that society puts last. In Candhi's words, "Whenever you are in doubt.. .apply the follo\r.ing test. Recall the fam of the p m t and the weakest man whom vou may have seen, and ask yourself, ~f the step you contem- e t ? ii going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by i t?
111 i t mtow him to a c m b l over his own life and destiny?"lOl
'1 Ihe onlv t r u ~ rrpcrtn nn puvcrty are the pmc"
'The griwnd\r<~rk t~ i r trur dcvchr~~rnt~nt I, vxpnd~n): ~rnl?rt*~~vvlv III
lnanv r e ~ ~ r ~ ~ r i ~ as prxlr pc.~>pIe org,jrrr/v tIit~rn$(.lvt~- 111 I~ght pr~v~*rtv and mv~rr~nme-nl,~l dr i l~nt* Indrd. thts , ~ r t i ~ I e r ~ ~ r ~ ~ ~ pr<~I~lt,r.~tr~~it wlf-help group* I\ the nlo\t hcartrnin): lrcznd on lhc latvrrtv lrrsnl C;r.tssr~~its actl~m ha5 grcwn \tt~drly, 11 rrnvvmlv, \III<(~ nird-(t.nlllrv. '1% dn r~p~~ndrn l : lattrcculrrh of ctidcpc~ndt.nf re II~ICI~+ ,tnJ *t.i u l<~r dcvelc~pm~-nt group hdvr ~,rfidnr/rd arnrlng tlrc Iwor '1111. dt-i.rJt., hnwevr.r, sell-help organlzatton* h,ivr <)?read c'\[?lo\r\,clv, caw. nomlc and ~.nv~ronrnent,tl ccindlt~on\ haw J&c~rrtrrdld and. In uimr rc~111n5, a5 pcilit~cal *y+trms. havr htwimr more qwn ~rr Jt.mr~rat1~ (;racsrcw~ts mvironrnental and ant1 o\,rrtv gnirrp p r ~ ~ h a h l ~ n1rmh.r III the hundreds of thousand,, anJthrlr'<ollc,<ttvr mrmIwr411p lo the hundred+ of millruns 1"'
The grassroots front l rnn hav18 pnducrd wmt. <if the mosl rnnoud- liue.itratrgies lor dismantling the poverty trap's lcudl pdrtc--lack 01 secure mntrol over pr~ductivc mcrurcol, phyvt-al ~sc-nkn1.s. a d 111- nes, pupulatron ruhth, and pl,nrr l t~mt+~ 5 ltghtrnga f r w rut ze,sful efforts htfv. reveal the e~orr,rtunrtrt~ cdramatlc prciyrc-, . .
.rcome old barrren when the p r arGenahled to ov; '
Information ir one of the most rmporlanl of there roductrvc" resources, as two examples from flulivia demonstrate. & c ~ 3,(100 meten above thesca in the bitter hrighls of Ihr Andes i* a dcsolale Quechua Indian wion calkd Raqaypampa-with~n one of thr pin-
,ind mo\t ~ s o b t r d artL,ts in all of 1,atin Amricd, and a classic illus- tratistn (11 the downward zpiral. Dck~rwtat~cJt and o\.ergrai.lng haw I{r\vrr~ti thv land'< producttvitv and r r d u c d local lncomrs In thc
56 nti~i.(.~ghtt~h, cultur.tlly x~nstilt,e tnde cn&nt devclopmenl t~rga. nlt.ttlon from C.crch,~barnba calltsd CENgA Megan worktng with tht. artSdt'* t r ~ ~ d l t l o n ~ ~ l pC.lsant assoclattons to find u.a& to lrnpnlvc thc *ltu,ltlon. C'ENI)A'* ,~ct~on-llr~cnted ri.scarcb a pbach Icd them to locu> ~ I I I .t thwe-prongt~d tulucational stratel&. !$artin$ a local hilin- gu.ll nrr\7q?apcr a Qut~chua-I.i~tguagt> radlogtati(ln, and 4 training p r o ~ r a ~ n proved a powcrful way to unlcask the peasant.;' knowl- ttigc of prt>hlc~nis and opporkuntttcs. The rr.sklents prized the newr- falwr so much, lor '\ample, that thev pressc~d thosc who were ttcr.itts to r u d each 1.~11tion aloud. M1lth the rduca t~on program's
soctrsz. Kaqavpampa and CENDA's efforts expand~d into a rnultl- turlc-of othr.r hrlds, notablv enrimnmt*ntal rcstoratlon Tree planting cstlort. and br tkr otl .ind.pastun. management have spread acres)
the wgli>n. <in-atrr acres, to intormation was in large part responsl- hh* tor thc awd'b tur1taruund.1~~
In the rugged Yungds region north of La Paz, hundreds of impover- ished pt'dsant!. t4k.e high school-level courses in market t ~ ~ w n s when thcv come lo e l l thcir pnduce. The curriculum, designed by a dedi- i.lted ~nd'pendrnt prnup called CETtiA to be relevant to local con- dttions, also ofkrs tntenstve werk-long vocat~onal courses during thr ajiriiultural slack. seasun. Most Important, the effort has man- a@ to nearly as man women as men. Studies on everv con- tinent show t h ~ t as female &teracv rates rise so d o income ievels, nutrition levels, and child survival rates; at the same time, popula- tion gnwth slows, as women gain theself-confidence to a s m i con- trol over their bodies ""
Meanwhile, a new generation of loan programs has found a direct and highlv rftertivr wav to innease p r people's a m s s to produe tivo asset's. The world'i remier loans-for-the-poor initiattve was started by Bangladeshi d h a m m a d Yunus, who abandoned his ata- demic economics post in the mid-seventies to follow English poet William Blake's advice: "He who would d o mod to anather must d o
11 In minute. articular%." 111 1470. \runus h r p n dt\trlhl~t~n): tllrv I#*an%, aroun!kij dpiccr, to landltss\ \~IIdjirrs so thllt tht., IC~LIIL! tluv Ihv most baslc acsrts, %uch as rlcv hullvr*, ( i~w%. tcr~l*, and r,uv rn.itta- rt.lls The pro'ert has u read apldlv In 1487. ?unit+ c*t,~hlt~h~.cl thv 57 (,ramivr.n ( ~ i l l a ~ e ) "an!, wh~rh, hv c,lrlv l48'4, h.ld h.ill a mtll~oti Iwr. r(nh,crs and was addlng more thin 111;fll~l ,i nirtntlr kcwtsr th,111 ?It ix'rccnt of the loans go to mcn, hl*c.c~un., .I\ Yunu* zrw. "Womcri ur thr \vorst klnd of poverty "It*
(;t.rmeen's thousands 01 "htc.vclt- hankvr+" now w,tndrr tht* dllt.y\ and dusty paths of Bangl,idesh tialltng tht* landltw '~hc~nl the hank that makes loans to the p w r at lo percent annual 1nteriut.- .1 tenth whdt manevlrnders charpa. Brc6iucr I ~ L - pcwr I6lck .I~+I.~\ to u\r c~dlateral, (:ramcr.n has dCviwd .In sngcnrour .er rrr*uw mcsthtd lo ensure repayment. Loan appl~antb must rnd h)wr trther* w~ th whom to apply, and the group is then rt-s~wm~ble for ensurln): thal all members pay. Kepayment rates arc* h t ~ h t ~ t h a n fr~r anv tommer, c~al lending program, with onlv a few prcent nt~t mCctlng thrtr ohlt. gations; many actual1 pav their wtvkly tnshllments In atl\'ancr In clrdrr to get a second %mn'scmncr. (;ramren'r tltrnt* havts dugmvnt. cd their incomes dramaticalljl. One studv found th,~t borrowcrn earned 43 rcent more than t elr countt.rparts in nrarhy villa cc where the c n k did not yet operate. Intorneplna w r r I~T~LII. thmnore, for the poorest bor~owcrb.~"~
Trees are another asset that can liberate the pcKpr In tho lnd~an *late of West Ben dl. a guvcrnmrnt prugram has indbld vlllagefi lo turn a feeble lan!tpfonn Into a route out of the m r a l In the Uldnawrr bstnct, with a population of 7 m~llron, a g&ernrnent land rcdhtn- bullon In the late sevenbe had untntent~onallv Iotlowed In the path of dozens of other futile land reform by assign~ng <mall plots of degraded common lands to landlm famlllrr. k mftlclk allotmentr. from which the a m r had lunn cathcd lodder and fud. remain& vacant until 1981: when the -"ly founded Group Fa:rrm Forestry P q r a m began distributin free tree soedlingr. b n y vil- lagersenrolled and r o v e d their Ian! with the hardy trees. Aftet the first harvests proved highly profiteble, interest i n the program
s tu r rd . \'~lla);cr\ in thc Nag~nd area, mostlylriwrr ca5tc'and trthnl }n~ol~lr, uud this hulk of thair ibarning5 to huv%m,~ll plots of ~ r r i ~attbti rg r ra l tu rn l lrnd in th r lrrtilr ra l l ry h n t t o h from a b m t i > r e n d -
58 Inrti, lhrtrihutlmn of degrd i r ( n~n imonlmd, l u l l e n d h" t r w rultl- v'lt~cln, Ihrr5 ht*c.amc \t~lt.hclp land rrform. V&t dcforr51vtl (ommoll ,lrnl\ v t ~ s t 111 nidnv rt~gions of the world aIcmt$sidtn wrctchcdly pcic~r
(1 It', c\.ho, i f tCrv had thtl right+ to grow and h,irv(,st trtlcs on thr r'!. KIIIL LOIIIJ J O t h r ~ m u ~ l i ' t ~ and tht, c~nv i ron~ i i~v t grcL4tl brandit '('8
Kcturni~~g contnd over local rthsourcL5 lo villa 'ers can hc1vt' tqually i i rarn,~t~c cfftscta. In thc de\l,~stated Araizali h i l s ;,f tht7 west lndinn state oi K ~ j n s t h , ~ ~ ~ i ~ e s thc commun~ty of Stvd, whosr tr~h,\l ~nhabi- tan\:. h ~ v r rcgiztcr t~d their vi l lage undibr t h e I l t t l r -used btatr C;r,~md,~n Act. Tht,ni.filiuted nrt, inrpirtd hy G a n d h ~ , transfcrr all common lands In v~ll,~gt% which rvgibter undtr the Inw frnm the stale govvr~inlt~nt to \*~llagc councils. Stvd is the crnl v i l l a ~ e in India with m d ic in l l r rnct i i~ntxl land use plan written gV the villagers them- wlvc*. The n ~ u l t h 01 empwer ing the community are plainly rislhle: th r Idnd, s'rile Indian rnvironmental '~nalysts Anil Ajiarwal and Sutiitd Ndrain, "is lush green and full of grass, likr an clasis in th r denudtad Aravalis." Seed's hundred households have benefited handsnmely tnrm the rrgeneration of their environment; even during the sevcwdrought of 1987. when cattle died by the thousands in neighkvringamas,SredSred's villagersfilled Nl bullock cartswith grass.'"
Poor people's hvsical weakness frnm malnutrition and illness, the v o n d p r t $ t h e poverty t rap at the local level, can be ~ l l e r i r l c d t h n ~ u g h low9-cost, participatorv provision of clean drinkin ua te r md b s i c health a r e Thegovernment in Malawi, one of t h e b t nations in Africa, offers materials and training to villa e$ that are f, .' willin lo lay their own p i p s from catchments in the hig lands. The more &an 1 IW kilometes d p i p and 4,000 tillage tap installed testify prtwerfully to theeff&venexi of this a~ronbistraiegy, but, in a mntinent l h n d with broken down a n 8 k d o r r d water sys- tems, the ultimate proof lies in the fact that clean w a t a keeps flow- ing year after year to the 1.2 million p t y l e w h m villa es helped build the systems. Prom t h e m , the p i p and taps be!ong to the
I c~n lc~n i , i ' \ ~ )~pro~ t I i III~~I~IIVIII~ i l i c l ~ c ~ ~ l t h 01, li1ldrt.11 tht. ril+r(or I IV ot thcs proor-15 t~hcrnpl.ir~ In I t~ f i l . l.~nl,lo~.~n l~ t~.~ l t l i .~u l l i~ l r~t l~ . r l'1,gdli nivi~li~ig w~th Jo/i.n\ (11 t on~ l i i t l l i ~ t~~* to dl'., II*, t l i ~ lh.r.1 ,tr11t vgv lc~r '111 'tIl.t~ut ,~,111lt t ~ n ~~ l i~ l~ l rn11rt~111t6 KitLt,(l <,It irr <>ritV IC~IIV~
i v ~ t l i LiSlC1:F ,i5\1\1,int1~ 111 lqti3, tlir, {vosr~srn I, 'I nii>da,l 01 ~ I I ,
~ n o b ~ I ~ / ~ i l ~ o n trtmi t l i i , l ~ ~ t t ~ r r ~ ~ ~ t ~ o n ~ ~ l t i1 t l i c \III~IKL* I t~ \ t~ l , 1 1 1 ~ 6 1 l t I~ IK ,pnvrnnit-nt. tk) 1nt3d1.1, .rnd ~rt~stilv 11rg,1111/ed VIII~I~I. hv,~ltIi ~1l1n 1111tti*i~\. At r ~ ~ g t ~ l ~ ~ r l v ~c l~t~dt~ l t -c l V ~ l l ~ g v l l t ~ d l l t ~ I)<I\\, p ' t r~*nt \ .~~i~I nrirlv tr.tlned viI1,1 .i, htdth worht.r\ rvt~~gh and !'it< ln,rhr c h~l~lrt-n. Ircal toninion elf;ncnta, and L(I\LII\+ h ~ d l l h ,11111 ntttrlllun Ctrmmnnrty hedlth meetings, mc,~nwh~lt,, c ~ t ~ i l ~ n i i , ~ l l v t~\.~lu,~lr. frogrikta ,ind proposc nc\v clrtlc~rir\, \uch .lrc~utilur~r d,~v l'trt. and unch usrvrcca for rh~ldren whtw artbnt\ .ire 'is+<lr. III tht~ Orld+. 1%). I '+ti#, rn .in8,~% whr*ri- the rtlgr.lm lc id hvt.n, tht. ~nt.itlr.nct.~lI w+rrt* malnutri!li,n had iallcn Rv nvarlv twcl-th~rtlr, .lnJ thvchlld death ratr hv onc-th~rd. Onlv inruiflt~c.nl iund111g mar hlinh rrpanrtlrn ti1 the prngrdm nahonw1dr.1~'
I'i~pulativn growth, the tiilrd a+pct tlf 1ht9 p r r r t v trd 1 at thv lw,~l Ikvc*l, 1s beln. zlowerl i n prkctsartrund thc world bv thededlcat~d work of pubfir and rl\ate agen~lrs. Evm In Kvnv~. thr iiruntry with Ihr wc,rld's Iiigfra; htrthrale, prrlgrrc* has rtrcontl? heen mca. sorind. The church-zupportrd Chqorld 110.1 i l d l In t h ~ ftwlh~lh I)( Mount Kenva dixoverrd d war. lo make brn& pbnnlng. along wllll its critical r~~mplemm~s, health and nutrtticin ~nklrmjtlctn, ava~lablc loan entire cvmmunitv on a low budget. Building on KL.II~P'I l~o~nrn- ht7r or self-hrslp tradition, Chogor~a worked with 42 rrillagc. commit- tees to constructs human cham between ~mpwerlshed ~ r a l women and the hospital. Hundreds of voluntcrr\. tradrtlonal hr th allen- dants, fidd educators, and nur5es-almost all womcn-zollaborat(.)rate to keep information, support, and ccintraceptive s u p p l i ~ flowing outward and quests flowing inward.1"
Ry the m~J .c~f ih t~ i+ . the ;crt.n's wtrmrn were having 2 .5 fewer ch~l - d rm ,~p~c-c,, than w.14 tvpical nationw~dia. OAe in three Th~rd World
60 n~trtl,er\ w4dntr no nlorib rh~ltircn hut lacks Kc modern contracry- t~\.c-*. tonfiJ~*ncv. or ~niorm'it~on to ctrntrolhrr frrtility. Chogorr.1 ~ I I o H . ~ h o ~ , wclmrn can hta mohililc*d to fill Ulat gap in a personal. 1rt.d u..lr. "I w ~ r h bide-bv-side w~tlr wcrrned," one rolnnteer s a d , " p ~ ~ k ~ n f i c o t t ~ ~ ~ ~ i r rvcrrk~ni in the field!.. We &usseverything."l~'
I ' o ~ t ~ r l ~ % ~ \ n ~ \ r , thtl la\( local ~ c p c r t o i the povrrtv trap, is perhap.. thc moht tcnnt'lou* I t the world'% lau,s wjew all e\fcnlv enforced, p ~ v ~ r t v wtruld h, ,I far \mallcr prohlrm today. For rxam>le, des itc nat~onal I.levs prohih~tlng dibcr~minnticrn, untouchable castes in [all 111 Indi;'.r %; l ldy wi9re *\till . barred frnm common wc~llr at last d s ~ r - mtqnt. ant ns ormb, wclfarr sysltsms, employment programs, mini- mum rr.ll;t*% tin)d-hrr-work basic ~ n f r a s t r u c t u ~ inr,ustmmts, and hrdllh ,~nti nutrition assistance are commc)nly delayed, distort- rd-aonrrtlnrcs plundered-by Landowners, intermrdiartes, and petty t~fT~cials. Kesourccr intended to trickle down have a wav of evdy~rating long hft>re they rvach the drstitute. And, sadly, advo- cate!. lor the cxlr run enormous risks in many countries. In places such as ~ r a r i f Cu~temala, m d the Phil~prines,ttyw whosland with the disp~ssc%std all toooften place them Ives In popardy. Yet coura- ~m)t l s c~r$ani?ations prsrvere nonethelcrs.'"
The Calcutta-bascd k i n - L e g a l Aid, Research and Training Center orfianizres village rvomm across Northeastern India into legal cell5 that monitor and confront abuses against the unfortunate. Annin the grassmots groups with information on law and rights, S L A ~ hacks them u p with a network of 200 volunteer lawyers. S U R T C works most a ressivelv to uncover and redress violence against women, long tverated inlndia-as in most soc ie t ies .~~~
A decadeago, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, an independent development organization, discovered the forceof infonnation to unite poor villagers in a remote region of their coun- try wheremmption was rampant. When BRAC undertook an emer- gency famine aid effort in the region in the seventies, it quickly
'Remunes intended b lrithlr down have a way of eva ratln Ion
before they reach tR(: de~ttutt!
dlxovered that government relief should have k e n mcmw than suflt. clt~nt for the region. As BRAC reports, "Rather than renchtng the people for whom they were intended, these resources were h t n cc>ntrolled and enjoyed by a small number of werful mrn whu ha! 61 g c ~ d c o n n ~ t i o n s with local government ofRals." Thc rlrh of the rvgion had formed a "complex net of c~n>perattve conncctlonr link. tng them into a seemingly irresistible network of rorruption Ttmc after time we found the landless ppcvle w ~ t h whom we wew work- tng caught u helplessly in the mesh of thi* invtrtble network, only pnrtlzllly un4rstanding it, and feeling p o w d m s tc~ deal wtth 11 "11"
BKAC commuhity workers shifted thew efforts from suppl In aid to documentin and combatin the "net." l n t e r v ~ e w t n ~ %nflcrr people in ten vifiages, BRAC too&rerords of land r a h , unfair lorns, embezzlements, and b r i b . None of these isdatJev;nts were n w r to the poor, but as records accumulated, p people kw an to u k e tntense interest. As the net's pervasiveness was r e v e a ~ J , the Imd- less be a n to unite in grassroots organizations to reclaim land wrongdully taken from them and get their due from ~ovornmcnt offim.fl7
The antipoverty efforts described above give a senw of the force unleashed when development starts with the poorest. In the final a ~ l sis, however, ending poverty requires more thpn a ,ha!, pim- meara proach; it requires a government that ~ p l m t l y d u r c a poltcy towanfaiding the least fortunate. Amund the world. in counrncsof all ideological hues, verty has retreated dramatically only when ambitious pmgnms g v e been in place to promoll equity ad pm- vide the poor with greater opportunities.
Sadly, few countries have u n d m l r e n t h e of inithtivcs th* decade, fau*ng i n s t a d on reforms of m d e z a l . and m 0 W V matters a s pmxribd in stmctural adjustment p c h p from the World Bank .ad IntematioMl Monekary Fund. Tht focus a n8tiod m a c n m o n o m i c imbabncca may be a short-term ncmrity, but -nl adjwtmmt could be done in such a way that it bmcAu &~oa:
Currmtlv, adlu>tmrnt I$ b a d on a free trada, fnv market ideal that allrgcdly stands beh~nd the twnomlc succeslof the .u)-called Newly
62 I n ~ u 3 t r i ~ l i t e d Countries, niitably South U r e a . South Korea has rfltwd dverbjie Inmme dramatically snce theearly s~xties, mostly by export~ng manufactured g t~ods io industrbl countnrs. The new incomc has been d~strihuted relatively equ&~bly, and poverty has dcclincd s h a ~ l y Dozens of developing countries, pressured by Bnnkand Fun iiejiot~ators, haveheen t ry~ngbemula te the "Korean Mtraclr" and txport thelr way to riches.
Y1.t what South Korea actually did to reach its current position k a r s littlr rrbemblance to the myth circulated by the two development instituticlnb. Michelle Gittelman writes in the journal of Intrrnal~a~~al Aflolrr. "Nearly even) principle of the generic World Bank/lMF poli- cy packa~r. for d rb thdden countries . . . was violated b the South korednh. The Korean government controlled t w o - t h i d of invest- ment cap~tal in the nation-a level almost without par outside of \ o c ~ r l l s i c o u n t r ~ e ~ "The South Korean ~mporter, ' ihe contrnues, "who In IVHO had to w b r n ~ t 256 documents In order to enraec In trade would probably laugh at the notion that South ~orear; '$lv~ was close to a free-trade environment " Because of its strategic Importance In the Cold War, furthermore. South Korea benefited from preterent~al access to U.S markets and massive lnfluxes of d ~ m t Amencan a ~ d 118
More important, few of the elements of the Korean miracle can be re licated in the global economy of the nineties. Markets in the idustrial world are inmasin ly walled off by protectionist barriers, and the volume of world tn$ is unlikely to gmw quickly, u it did when South Korea an its export drive. For the world's poor, what is most im~or tan t i%u;h Korea's development-the foundations of equitable growth--came before the ex boom. In the late lor- t~es, Korea hunched one of the most r a g 1 and ega1ita"an land reforms in historv. transEorminn an aericultureof feudal estates into one of small f a d s in a matter sf yea&. Heavy investment in educa- tion, meanwhile, led to nearly universal literacy by the early c i r t . ~ i l P
Inmically. thc~expericnrc of onc of South K~mw.r'* anh.r~vnl*. ( h~n,~, whcw pver tv has also been wdunrl dr.imat~csllv, tc*aihw mdnv 111 the w m t It3sc;ns. The Ch~n tw tvunomv h a s b n ~ ~ c x L I ~ stncr8 Ihe &td- wvmtles, when reform.; expanded tht. nmlr of m.~rkct.i. v ~ t thdt wrk 63 pnveded hy a writ- of land relormz that Irrst dcstn~vtd the. p,wesr t>t rural el1te5 and then grvc peasant? Ic>ng-tl.rm r~fiht\ to ~od lv~dunl plots. As i n Korea, rlmarv tducatlon dnd acccw to barn. htb.1lth <dmc.
rnrludmng family pI!nnlnR, werValst~alrt~ady ncarlv un~vcr%i,ll
In both Chrna find Korra, ~ C C C + S to t h ~ t t s b , ~ ~ ~ i ~mpvdmmcnt* to pclverty-land, ~nformatron, and hc.alth cnrr--crr.dtt-d the founds- tlons of a strofip, domestic market Hcdr\tr~bution of wrallh hrtrdd- wed the pool of consumers w ~ l h money to spend. trdn*turm~n): unmet human needs Into what cct~norn~~ic call "r.flir.t~vc demand," and initiating a wlf-re~nfurcingpr<~t+s of rvonctmlc. growth Il~fihvr Incomes i n rural areas stimulatvd rural and urban indurtrri** that absorbed underemployed Laborers, who*, gmatrr t-arning' fl<rwrJ back into the process of growth.
Whlle South Korea and Chmna l a ~ d the gruundwork 01 equ~tahlr develo ment under all-contrull~ng tentrallted governmcnta, thc StaIeorKerala, in India, provides a model d ~nrr~mental hul com- pwhensive poverty alleviation under demomatic and decentraliad rule. This southern Indian $talc, wrth a po ulat~onas large an Gnada i n an area the size of Switrerland, has putttng thr pw)r first lor decades. Peasnts and laborers there areexceptionally wcll- organized and vocal, thanks to a history of wAal adivlsm among thr educated classes, and have been able to elect governments cummtl- LPd to helping them.1"
Kerala's villages have access to bas~c health, ducalton. and trans- portation services at a level unknown anywhere el* i n India: a w e n t survey of a c c ~ s to basic services i n half a million villa m ranked Keralc first among [ndian stater i n 15 of 20 talgorlt;. lmrnuniution campaigns cover most of the popuirnon. Schools and dinharespread t h m t the state. alon with "birpnc~shops" thatrvllbsSIicgoodstot~P"at bwEoM.&fedrinkingwaWup
plies and family planning vrv~ces are ava~lakk to a la e and Rmw- In# shanvof the population. And a comprehrlsive lan7refom p m
64 gram &gun In l9b9gavr 1.5 million tenantsand laborrrs rights tci the land they tilled or to their homes and gar&ns.'"
The state's antipoverty focus shows up clearlj in statistjcal profiles. h p i t e prr ca it3 income less than twothidkof the Indian average, ~erald'sadult!~terac~ rate isalrnc~t twice the mtional mark, its peo- ple typicnllv live 11 yran longer, its birth rate bone-th~rd lower,and inqualitie; between xkes-and castes-are less pronounced than in anv other state. Kerala's infant death rate of 27 per 1,W IS one- third of the Indian avera e indeed, it is lower than that of Washington. D.C., despite t i e fact that the U.S. capital's average income is 30 times as high.'"
Kerala's hedlth care record e indicative of the way grassmots organi- zattons can niake government accountable to the poor. Althou h wmr other stat- have nearl as many clinin and doctors as era%, nowhere is health care aseficientl providd. While in many parts of the world. public clinin are unLrfunded, poorly ru plied and often without professional staff, "in Kerala." as one anafyst d;ites, "if a PHC ( rimary health clinic] was unmanned for a few days, there w o u l k a massive demonstration at the nearest collectorate Iqional government office)."w
The ingredients of Kerala's success are common to all effective efforts to dismantk the poverty trap worldwide: Literacy, ~ S ~ F T J A I I ~ for women, gives a m to information, and kads to hi her imam, impmvd health. and smaller families. !%CUR land ri $ts a l k the poor to increase income and economic security. ~ocaf control over common resources helps break up the cycle of e c o n o m k - e c o l ~ l dylrsdation. Credit lets the poor gel productive a& such as v r stock and tods Clean drinkiq w&r.and community-bbd prima- ry health cam p a d adults from debilitating dkems, which lower theif earnin. . ;and save children's lives. allowing parents to have smrller famres. ~amily Lnning gives p m w- mans to dEa tivcly contml their k r t i~ ty , ?ce births at a healthy interval, and
"Grrrsmots or@xatinnu enrblr the poor to dimct the dcvrlopmcnt
prow*$ and In rccelrrrtr progrrrr hy workins to(lrthrr."
tmprovr then own hrdlth (,r.i*.inw!t\ or .ani~.,ttcm\ znahlr ttrv prtt 10 drrt~ct the developrnrnt prr,tt.c\ . i ~ i ~ p t i r ,lccvlt.r,ltt. yrrtrxrt-r* hv workrng together.
I t World Bank and In t r rnnt~~~n,~ l Mtlnt5t,~rv lund .Ir~rctor,tl ,rdlusl. 65
rnvnt packa r.5 rncorp(~ratvd zomv III t h r x nira\urt.\ thrv wnulri otten heif k i t h thc unfortun,~tr and tlrev~c~na~mv ,~vt - r , l l~ , hv vnahlinp, poor pcrplc 111 genrr'lte mcrrc. ~ncomr AI t~~r~i . r l t~ l~. *trtrc turn1 adju5tment mrght armply Icwur on rcrncivlng tvc1ncim11 d ~ * l ~ ~ r I~rrns and ~nr.ffirrencic.i that hncqfrt pr~mnrilv thv rlcli Ycl h v ~ d u w %tructural adjustment plan5 art. often qutcklv dr,trvn. thtav i ~ n J 11) mm~rveobv~oussuhsid~~~ to thr* rrr, ~url ian 1h1ru.11n f ~ d , r*,rthrbt~l tcrnchlng ~nvisiblr subsidit% t~ r tc nrh. wch 'I* prnltr.tron ,*I ~~rcfur. trial *tor!. 1:"
Implrrnvnttnp, pvertv allt,v~,itlr~n pn>gram*at the INN a1 and n,ttrt~ndl levels will come lo I;tlle w~lhc~ut coni}>lamcntary rrlorms at thv international level, whcre thc debt hurdrn rcmalnr und~rn~n~uhiul and the threat of cllmati* changc hangs IILC Damtxlc*' *wtrrd
Reversing the downward sprral means n v ~ o t ~ a t i n ~ Ihvp culs rn tht' drht burden in ekchnge tor policy rt.lorms to help the prwr CIUI r l f the cvcle of environmental imyrverishmml. Movtl to cancrl ~ r m r African nations' debts to Western Rovrrnrnmtb area gcxd %tart, n- IS U.S. Treasur Secrelarv N~cholas Brady's call frvr rrdurt~nn ot Latin nations' %ht to pri&te banks. But much mrmrv comprehrnsrvr action will be required. Since earlv In thc debt crrvr, banks haw. lonned an almmt united fmnt, but debtur nations havc*nevrr @fwd together to coordinate their baraainrn~ psitum4. Rearhln~ a frnal sorulion will require r n u n d ~ b L ' i n l ~ t ~ n n a ~ qd la l l on6 bdween debtors and neditors. an international debt reduction aammrnt. and an tmpartral rnst#tutronal mechantsm lor adl~dtrrtrnK drsptes 1s
Fa the world's policymakm, the details ol tkdebl duct ion meth- ods now in order matter less than the realir~tion I b t debt on the current scale i s no l o n ~ e r tolerable. After reven year6 of debt
rr~llor,~-rc .ind l?.~nd ,1111 ).ilI~.it~v~\, dnd IIII~'F~VC.II venrz ol growln 1nlcrr.v In t l ~ r Suolh, ttit, I~nit . Itrr hc.bitdtl~n i b pelst. Ah UNICEf wrltt-. "It 14 e ~ ~ e n t ~ d l to ~ ( r l p ,%way the nmtfOs of rn in i~m~c parldn~r 66 and t~iat rvh,tt ha, h.~pp.ticci 1s slmplv an outragr ap~nst a Iar *t.cttt)n trt hum,in~ty. . . Al low~~iy: world ecQnomtc prohltams tot: talt.n out on t11t. Rrc;w~ng rn~nds and h d ~ t * c at y t ~ u ~ ; ~ ch~ldrcbn 1s tht. ,int~thre~!.r~t all c~vill/ed bchavlor. N o t h ~ m ran justify 11. And 11 shdrnca ,Inti 1i1m1n1~ht.s uh dl. I?*
Hcyond Jcht rt . l~~t, unlozkmg thtl glohnl pcn'crlv trap w ~ l l re urrv l e z w n ~ n ~ ~n t fuh t r~~ l n)untry trade rt,str~ct~r~m against imports%om IWI(W ~ i ~ t ~ o n s . U.S. Import lim~th on sugar, fw example, havc meant lhdt lor niu~lr 01 thr past dt'cdJtb, Ami*ricans havv pa~d cl.vcral t lmn the world ~ n ~ r k e t prlctB to swtutcn thrir ctbftee w ~ t h beet sugar from M~nnccota w l i~ l c c.inc cutlers nr,trlv starve for lack of work In
1)ism.rntling the povtSrtv trap will nlso mean he1 ing developing n.ltlons tu divers~ly tlic~r'economies, mo\vin. away Prom dependence on \ ' t ) la t~ l~ comm~)Llil~ mdrkets. And 11 wlh medn worktng toward inlcrndt~onal to t raA capital f l~ghl ; otherw~se the wealtliv will continue lo avo~d paytng their sham of t a x s to f~nance twnomw recr)vcrv.
lnterna!ional ~ssistance has a vital direct mle to play m alleviatin poverty. ye mast development asststance agencies continue to fun% prow that are Lsrgelv irrelevant to the p r . One exception, a mul. tilateral organization that has consistrntlv put the poor and their environment first, is the Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development. "No people." IFAD'S 1986 annual report deflates, "am too poor. too isolated, or too ma inauzed to remain beyond the reach of effective pmject~." ~ h e a a v e worked with
"Over the Ion6 run, (mail l u t l use in induqtrirl cnuntrirs may
be the most important dctrrminmt of theglobal povrrtp rate."
l:~ndlly, povertv a l lev~st~r~n mud Icwk 11, tht. tlirc,it r ~ f ~ l o h . ~ l wdrtti. Ing. whirh, 11 al l t~*r~d to run tt\ tvtlr\c.. tctuld ~#vc~rwhclni ,811 rrthrr progrtss:. aga111'5t destitution. The 5ptytt.r r-.n~glrtm,ir~*h ,1gr11 ~~ l t u rn l 5y.itthmh could hr thrown rut 111 hdldncr r r$u l t~r ig rn nl,i%blvc lam~ncs, water cvclcsctruld hts d~*.ruptrd,c,lurlllK frt*qurnt fltnrd.. dnd drought<, ptxlr people'\ llmltrd n.lti~ral rthuwrtm tc~uld h . d ~ r ~ matc*1 ar furesth, rangvland, ,lnJ sw,~niys drr !rauni.it~~rJ hv rep~Jlv changing climate patterns dnd rlslli): \ca\
Over the long run, f i n *~ l furl use In ~ndustn~l l countr~e* may he t h ~ most ~ m p ~ r t a n t detrrmlnant of the ~ l t ~ h . ~ l p ~ \ ~ r t v r41ttb I . v r rv vvrr that passes wlth~iut an ~ntt.rnat~o~ial acc(vrd 10 rrduct' g r ~ t - n h i u ~ ~ . $a> emis51uns In etfcct dooms mllllon5 mtirr 11) 11vc .ir pduprrs C'onversflv, tnu~far as deforcs*.tahon cnntr~butt*. 111 ~ l ohd l urdrmlng. and poverty to dek~rrstalron, poverty .illcrvr.~tr~rn h.~* (1 placr*~ti Any somprehenilve climate prntect~on plan.
Tcdav, poverty IS no Itlnger onlv ~ntolrrahlc tnlm a moral punt ol ~lew.'Fa~lurc to end ~ t s scourge kill not only stam the htst~*n,oI~rur agc, i t wi l l predcstlne the destrurtron of much of Ihe sharrd hto. sphere. For, althoueh environmental damage penalire$ the poor more rons~stcntlv .,&I wvrrrly than it dl- thc nrh. thr dt~wnkard spiral eventuaII,v becomes a circle embra~lng dl1 of humdnlly. r l i h and paor alike.
When the mor. i n desueration, ende h~lladf.i, dqradc rangdandh. Or bum lo&, ~ n d r r ; ~ spec* ~ n l o urllnclwn. thm a n nut the tlnlv ones who sulfer 5011 eroding on remote muunlaln sloprs clog9
hv i i r~ r l r c t r~ i d i d i r r ~ g ~ ~ t i o n works downstrdbrn. She& of rain wash- ing ott of denude11 watersheds flood exclqsive nc'ighhorhood'i J \ 68 *urtlv A\ h m \ . I'lttcntullv valuablt, mcdickes lost w ~ t h the extini- tlon I I ~ rdin fclrr+t ~ p l ~ 1 i 7 d r ( ~ d * vnavailahlt to the rich in their prl- vatc hi)\ it'115 a5 thrv ,\re to the p tu~r in thQr r u r d clinics. And the carbon !!otidI. rc lcawd A+ landlrss m l g k n t e hurn plots in thts A~n,i?on nr thlb ( 'ongo warms the gloht. asfiurely as dl1 the fumw l ~ r m al~tonrobllrs and hm11kk5tack5 in I.tn Angeles or Milan. The fate t i t thc Iortunatr 15 rmlnutahly hondcd to thefate of the dispossessed Ihrilugh t l i t~ land , watt>r, and 'ilr: in dn r cb log~ca l ly cndangrrcd w ~ ~ r l d . p ~ w r l v IS ,1 luturv wc can n ~ i longer aflord.
1. Hlllronarrcs from Alan Farnham. "Thr U~llron~~trr.% Iht Ihvv I'dr Ihvrr \ \A\ ' ' ' ).iirlrrn~, Scptemher 11. IYXY, mrllu~nil~rt~s c%trmalrJ fntnt john Slet4r 1 .~lnfon. "Why I t Cc?.*t> 5, Much 111 Ik. Ur~h." IVdr~r$her I'(r.1, Mac ?I. I V W . ~ i 1 6 . t vapc~ndttuvm from Caloric( e)r~Iri)l ( i ~ ~ t i r r l , Atl,rnt.t, (,,I . ~,rr\,~rt, (unl mull l~rlton, October 4, 111HY. undcrnutrrltctn rrlrnrdtsd trrlm Wllrld fbnl . l't~~v~rtu and Htrn,qm !.\UP+ urtd i)pf~i~n. blr f ,NU/ +mwrrtq rrt lJrr~ldq91n.f L oti~~fr~r. 'Wdqhrngtr~n. D.C . IYHh), and dap dtbcu*u~d lrtrr cn lrxt, drrnktny watrr .~nd Mnrtatrni bawd on Untt'd Natrons C hrldm'\ bun4 cL4lL 11,). rlatr 01 tbr, World'r i'hrlilr~,r 1984 (New Ycrrk Or l r~rd Unrvrrrrtv I'rc++r. IVW!. dltd IV~lrld &nk, S o ~ . u l Ind~catr~rnf l l ~ ~ r u ! ~ ~ ~ ~ m r n l 1988 Illalttmr~n.. Md Jrshnm ticlpklns Unrvenrty Pnw, l w )
4. Hooks r,ttmated from U N t d u i . ~ t ~ ~ ~ n a l . S6rc+ntt8nt rnd ( ullural (hganrzatron, Stnftrfrcaf ).rrrhtnrk IUN~ SC'cri. (Par13 I'inn~; rllttcrdcv Irt~rn Ruth Leger Slvard. Wtlrld Mtltlarv and oc iu l Lrp~*nJrlurr% l*Ui.AX Ih'a~hington, D.C: Wurld i'nontm, IW7). mrlrurv ~ ~ p . n d t l u r n n t i m l d
U.S. Arms Conlrul and hnarmament Af i twy IACIYAI. W11rlJ Md~tarv f. rprndrfurr~ artd Arnri Tran~fcrr I988 (Wd+hlngtl,n. D ( (,ttcrrnmcnl Pr ln l tn~ Office. lWY), child mortalrtynnrl ccnt d pmventarn lwtm VNIC'LI~. s i ~ t r ofthr World3 Chrldrtn 1989.
5. Rubrt S McNarnara. Thr M~tN~.mro Ymra 01 the Warld L n k biasr Pdlcy Mdresm of Robni 5. McNamrr, 1968-1981 tBalttmrm, Md luhns tlopkrnr Unrversity PIW, 1 ~ 1 ) .
6. N.S. jodha 'Povertv W t e i n Indu: A M~nurltv Vrew," trovomlc md pditml ~ ~ d y : k~mber, rwmk 1%; ~ ~ t - 4 1 chmbm, WWUI Jnhoduction: Mtlneratility, C in and Pultry,' and Tony k k . "Survival Stratcyyi~ and Pomramongst% #oomi in s we# k n p l MI*.' both m IDS &/&tin (Lnsthte d Devdopmn~t Shdb, &IRhlon), Apd f*
9. t.trly r ~ ) ; h t ~ t > \ r \ l ~ n ~ . ~ l ~ . \ Iron1 1, *r I r~od and &r~culturcUrganirat~o~r ctAOl. I)vtlr~r,it 9 01 K ~ i t r I I J ~ ~ ~ ~ r ~ r r v IKlsnlr lqH61, World Hank, Wr~rlJ I k f ~ ~ ~ L $ ~ r r t ~ ~ ~ f l K~p!r l 1'480 I\Y,r>h~nglr~n, It C. IYXIlJ, and World 1~1~irlrtpnt~'rzl Kt.prrl IqS? IWd\kcn$tt~n. I)( 1'4821
10. Hnbrrl Sonimt.r\ and Aldn tlt,htcsn, "A %ex Srl of In l r rnd t~<~na l Compdr~sun\ 111 Uclll I'rtduct and I'rlrr I IWI htirnntt% fur 130 Countr~l~*. luW-luX5.," &w"I'~I~ 111(t1ffzrlrnd Wr.ullh. Han.h 1488. A d a l a h ~ ~ * on cornput- r r d l rhr t tn that al.t.ornp~rnmd Ihr Summerzdlrd ti-ton drt~cle was used let
Jcvt~lop manv ol tht.tdblt'rand Ill(urt.r In thr Ivrt. Ftgurrs fur Ch~na from Alan lit\lon. Ijn~verwtv 01 Pennwlvan~a, Ph~ladt.lphia, 1'enn , pr lvat~ cum- nrunlratltrn, St~ptvmhrr 2 2 . IYXV In cllatltrns hereafter. 'Summers and Iitslun" wlm to Ih t~ .~n~r l r , ddtahnlr. and priralc cc~mmunlcatton
11. The ~ n ~ l l p l n g s IIIFI~UW I are bawd on the countr~c.r' I985 prr caplld Income Rlth nallons are I h t w ahrvr Ih.OMM. m~ddle income countrir5 arr hrtwtwn S?.MMl and Ib.(kHI, p r countrzrs are hrtwwn $llMO and 52,5*). nnd pxrrest arc blow li,(K)O. Source lor Figure 1. Summers and Hrston; data for I* to I W a w Wclrldwatch n l lmtes
12 Top stratum Iivln(: In United Stall* Imm Summers a d Heston. Figurn 2 haatvi on Summers and lleston ,lnd Pupulat~on Reference Bureau, 1989 Wmld i21pul6thrn [kt# Shrrf (Washington. W C.: laR9). '* 13. Income dislnbutam f~gun% tend lo understate d ispsntb because they are ralculatnf lor houxholds despite d~iierenrrr In houbphold size ( m r ho*~srhnld.r am usually Iaqrr). SLn of p ~ p u l t ~ o n below average Inhnie m l i m r t d from data In w u r t o fur Tahle 1 Table 1 m u r m World h n k .
lnshmleOWR1). HhrW ~ r p r u m r 1911849 Ywk h t c Pa&, I*): Agha M Chouw. 'Urban Povcrtv a d Unrmployment In Pakluln.- Pskrcfm h
14. %wrct.+ lor l'ahlc 2 !wmmcr\ ,~ntI i lv%l '~n, %Ittr<v% II~~III l,tl,lt I ,>hat r 1 rn l r r~c I I'ryur. IIIIO~III, l)ilrr~httltlt!r # t r l i l I i ~ i l r d l t t t ~ 1 l l . l l l~/ l l l l t l l l . l l l 01 Ml)lhti~,l l)twu%\~on l ' , ~p r '% I\\'~\~III~I~~II, 1) < \'Jc!tLtl b ~ h IWhI I rt.dvrl' I I1r$b8r, 111, ,,Ill,, l~ t~! r , l~ l l l l ,~ ! t ,t,l,I I, ,!,l,llllt, I l ~ ~ , ~ , ~ l < ~ ~ ~ l ! l < V f 1,) ~\l<l<l<l ;d,,# 8 1 , t?lh, ll~.,<,ll l 'dpr 37 (W.ishtngl~~n. I)( W,,rld H.lnk. IYWI
17. Mtr,t mnlnutrat~un rc.cord~ t n ~ m L \ I < t l . Sfti!,, I*! lli,. t\i*rLl - I litl,lr,~,f
l gHQ; N~raraguan rnalnutr~tn~n tnlm Urphc,n Klrwrr, ' \ ~ ~ s r , ~ y t ~ , ~ ' r Iic!nl*ml< Cr~sls Is S*m a5 Wonrtnlng." Nru, \orA Irrnr*. (ktli,h.r Ih. Ivka. I l l bddo r~n malnulr~tlon Imm 1.1ndsl.v Lruu.n, "hlv.ldrrr's l'o\,rrlv Ir ( nll6.d %l*rbl In (entury," Ncu, YorA Ttn~cv., ( k t c ~ h ~ r lh, lvna Glrt i ,~n 1111 t.rpcLlancv r l l J hunger Inbm World Bdnk and Intrrn.~t~vnal Mcrnel.trr I und, ~ l ~ r r r i ~ l h ~ r r t ~ t ~ ttforls lo Rrdurr. Pvlrrfy, ~ * v e l o p m m ~ ('ommlHt%- I'nptr I Y l h d ~ l l l n ~ t ~ ~ n . D.C.. World Bank, 1989).
18. infant m o n a l ~ l y from UNICEF. Stafr "I 111r Werld'r Lhlldrrrr IqBY, I'rr RnbtrupAndersen. "Ftnd SKur~ty and Struiluml Adprlmnl." In Lolllrfl Robert,, ed., Trddr. Aid, and pol;cv Krlurm Pro ' r rd~n~r t roa rhr /-1,%l1111 A~riculturol Stilor Syap,r;tun (Wash~ngton, t) C Wc~rld Bank. IYM). I*c.r P l n r t ~ p - d n d e m n , "Mocro.ecrmom~c AJ~ubtmrnt I'nllclrr snd Human N u t r ~ t ~ o n : Available Evidence and Kmarch Need*." f rr~dnnd Nulrrrron Bullflin (United N a t ~ o w Unrvarrity), March IVR7. World b n k . I'nulrty Ill lafrn Amrr~cr Tk I m p c ~ of Drpmlrnn (Wahmn$lon. D C . 1%)
22. I ,I~III Alnt'r~id truni %rmmrrr .init Ilr\ttln. U'urld Bnnh. 14~rvrru IVI lntrti .lrn<.r~,rr. ! \ l t ~ i n , ( ~ a n ~ ~ i2t al. 'I',~\~~rfiOfl thc%u-1,11 hbht In 1.atln Anrnrd,'' I ~ ~ l ~ . r r r ~ ~ l ~ ~ ~ r t ~ ~ l l $ r P i l l < r K~ i ' l r i~ ' , Vt11 128. Nt) 4, 1Yltq. Inter-Amerlcdn l> t , r t~ l~~pm~~nt ill)Hl, l ' t oni*n~rt d m 1 Gk I'II l 'ro~w.* 111 IJJ~III .4rntr1to 1'480 i\l',i\h~ngtr~a. I ) ( ' 14Hh). I$ lr>la q u ~ ~ t ~ t l III OVIC EE S I U ~ C 111 fht World i ('11rklrt.11 I V q , l'cru tnllii knrurda %a<~on.il dr Nutnclon v S.tlud, cttcd tn 'i~ndr,~ I I l t~f lm.~n rt al . 'T't~mmun~tv Dt.r~&nrrt Intervcntlon, To I'rrvent hlnlnutrlthil~ rn I'rn~ < ~~mrnunllr K~tchztt> and Nri$hk~rhhr l C'h~ldc~irr." rlrllt. 1 rntcr to I'N en! Childhcu~d Malnutntrrn, k t h rda . Md., Mdv 211. l WX [.I S.il\ddclr I~LIIII (I~U\CII. "S,~lv,idt~r + I ' t i \ '~rtv Called W~irlit in Ccnturv'
23. Asld lmnr Surnmrn and Ileston. Wt~rld &nL. World Lkrrlnymn~l Rrplrrt lo#+, World Rank, Srrprxirt It~r f l ~ r Aflnrrfkrn of Rrmtv
24. I W ) c h ~ ~ ~ po\'~Ytv t-l~nhtt~ fntm World b n k . Wirrl~i ~ l t r ~ m u n l Rrp'rl I@&?: mtwl China ~~t imatc fnwn C;u C'htngwen. '%umber d Pnot Drups, bul I\~r.urtv I't3n1sl " cltr~~r lkr~lu, Dn'crnh*r 31, IUXX, and Wc~rld Bank ~nlernal paprs.C hlaru* pl)pulat~on lm I'opulatlcin Refcwncr Bureau, IYMWorlrl ~J.);V~~UIM~I ILIBI 9.wf. and k m m n a d Hnttm. Inrl~msra and ThaLnd fnm L a w 5 Flcl.i<. +l 'a~mr. lnraurl~lu, and Fa~nomrc (~rowth.' draft. C u d 1 Univetslty. Ithsca. K Y.. jun; 198& Burma. Vietnam, and ~ h i l ~ ~ ~ i n e from p"?n qwb; lndu and P a w fmm WaM I n k S u e t fk Mlmofm oJ htrrrfv: Robrrt Chamhen. Hydcrahad, India, privatecommunication, September 7. IVUV; Mirhscl Liplon, dirrctnr of Food Consumption and Nutrition Prnsram. Intcrnatwnal Food Policv R e u u ~ h Inrtitute(lFPRI). WRrh~ngtm. D.C.. privokcammunica(ion.Srpember 12 1989.
25. Val1 lama1 and lohn Wcrk,. "1 ht. \.~~tr,hlng Kur.~l I rlr,tli (,ltll in L~I I~S
khnran Alnca." I i t t r r r~ t~ t i~~~ iu l liiboilr Kt~;~s~i~,. Virl I?:. \ < I 1. IVW. (,hall rncl dr Alibnllrd. "Crlblb 111 lhl' I Y I I \ " . d ~ r l $ ~ l l u r ~ l l UI I~L? trlbm I A i ). IIut~efttl, i
Kurol P~rt'rrly; southrrn lndlrn n ~ r i , illtllrdl *,I~T lrunt K 51 ~IIIIJ~U~I. 73 c.ri~u~tlr arrd 111, am, I ) l * f r t P ~ t f i < ~ ~ ~ III 111,llit ( \ e n Ibi~rv I'.irk ( dl11 \art. I b b l ~ c d t ~ o n ~ . 1987). d~ri(~ul111rdl U , ~ R C \ i n 4111111t ,inil !41,1rtI l r , ~ n ~ KIIII~I Bd~ik, llaic~rrfq 117 1af111 .AIII,,~I~~I, j DII~\~I,II, "Kiiml 'XXI~II I'~~II,$ 111 ,I +tr&tvg+ of Suslaind LX~vclopme~il." CI 1'111 Kri*l,.t~ I k w n i k r I". /.iirt, .lnJ ~ I N C
trends from Pin~trup.Andrrs t~n. . ''!t,ad S t , ~ u r ~ l r ,IIIJ \ l ~ ~ ~ c t u r , v I hdlustment "
26. I'ry~tr, 111n1pa D~+frrkrf i~~rr QIIJ l.c,mintln I tr~iY(l1prnt.111 III Mailug4c.t~r, I'rvor. I1rtrrmr I ) ~ ~ t n h u t r i ~ ~ ~ urrll 1 irlnrmrrt L I r ~ : ~ r ~ l ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t r ~ ~ r ~ ~ III &f~rlrt~,r. 'i1~rr8.1 In,:a lnrnal and Wwks, "The Vnn~rh~ng Rural.Urh.~n ( ..I}, In \trh.bh.~r,~n Alrta '1''. I'.rul C'oll~er, '"011 Shocks and FIII,~ Sc~ur:tb ~n \lfvr~,t," I I I~~~ I I~~~ I~~J I~ I~ f ~ l f ~ o i ~ r KPI~IITC. VC)] 127, Na h. 1%: Dhahm (,t~a~ .inJ L m l r R,tdn*an, 14% . .(,ymrrr~ PllI11.y and Rural Poivrlv m A/rlco ((.cnrt,a In l t~dt lo l !4 l ldthvr 0tlll1.. 1M1). Bangladrrh and Srl i.anka Incomv d ~ ~ t r ~ h i r l l o n fr11m Flr lJ\. " I 'LIvP~~~. Inrquallty, and Econom~cGrouth". I ' ek~ r t~ tn I r t~m "brhrrr l'crvc.ttu and Unrmploymcnt In l'allslan", l.atln Amc.riran ~n't~rnc d ~ r t r ~ h u l l c ~ ~ r frtsm World Bank. Po~ztrtv III 1.a11n Arnrrrrn. (,arv Fttnldr, "Employat~nt and Econom~c Cwwth In Cow Rlts." Wc~rld llrirlopntrrrl. \ul lh . 4i1r 12. 1'4th Adrlana Marshall. "lnrumr Ihslrtbul~on. Ihc b m n t r c Markti and (.nwlh In Argentina." Labour Q I I ~ Soorry, ldnuarv IW. (,ha1 and rlr Alr Ar tar~. -Cnsisol Ik l W ; ~ r a l Bra711 fmm FAU, ~vmmrr- rd Rural Pr~:vlfy, Brat11 Income losses (rum I'~n$trup.Andcrscn. "~;d Ccur l tu and %lr~cturd! A d ~ u r h r m l "
27. Worldwdlch rrarnlned dva~lablr nt lmsles of ab5olutc povlerlv and Womp d15lnbution on a country-by.country b i n for hrth rural a d urban d m , cmnplred them wlrh dald'on & u ~ m i and Jcxinl ld~cdton, dnd cum. pared them aarimt estimates for slrmbr m n t n n Wurldwatrh thm mdc I!+ own estimate-lot each cuuntry, trytng lo rpmMile available data and apply r wgkrundPrd d povrrcy. Pwmv m d u * r m l cwntrm n M( ~ w l u d d In thQ R10&I fipm, b R l w v m y littielndurtnal country prvnty m v d m cm d&ic~~~ddepfivabm~ w e * m g h mcksfify 16 akdute pn.mymy lndlntrul Wuntrie6 to@k mnfam fewer than 10 m l l h ind~vdwlb whu lrvc a Ibrrr. ht* poverty* quantity ta, srrull to alter the @I &~rmle wbrrmhllly.
2B. 13.tw~i ~III World U,tnL., \Vo~ltf /),~:~~I,IJI~~~II! Rt.prf 1'480 and W~,rl,l II~~I~~~/~!~~III~~"I K~.J&C~I~ IUli!, I\ h t ~ h v%I~rndlv , th~~ lu tc ' o#(-rt$ at "nearly I htl- 11ot1" 111 I1JS11 117 !'+MI, ont7 htlllon Iw'~~I~I~~~r~n~tItultrl!? ; prrenl ot the world 74 prpul<il~trtt In I~c t . l~s~~n., In thv .th,vs \V$lrlti Ik~v)luprnt~nt Rrport, add ,ttxntl 'I70 tn~llt<m. 11 , t l l ~ t i , ~ t i ~ ~ - tb n tad~ lor rountna thr Wurld Hank Jtd not
c. , a
Ittm t t i prrvrrtv \vl>llld nit,*in .i lotrrr pwcrly rtilr 111 IqXq than In Ilnlf), hul the c~~ltnl.ult,.tp(R'drr 111 hlnc I t t t I c ~ h l ~ ~ ~ Ih~*H.tnk rnlzds to pr~ducr.~ mont nl;. c,rttt8\ pnrrt). t % t m ~ l I ~ tn IOU0
Llnilr~rr~tr~rrltt~t~ lrrrtl Iluryt,r. SlaH Worktnji l'dpcr 5%' i~nsh ' ln~ ton . L) C W~hrld &nl, Iqt(7l. I.t~?tan. Rwr ar~~f tht. /'<h~r1.\1. and Wcvld Rank. Po~rrlv atlr l
31. Kt-lat~on brt\vrt-n r d ~ ~ c n i ~ o n and tncumc trttm brrgsman, Inremt L~t~Irtb~!li~rrt uvttl 1 ' ~ v ~ ~ f v t f t Llc~~ci!, I'ai~l Glt-u,tic, TI!,, l ~ ~ ~ l r ~ b t ~ f u ~ r ~ (II Wrlbrc I~I
14,rlr 1"ri.i-lih. 1 . 1 v l n ~ ~ f d n d ~ r d s Mfnburcmrnt Study Workln~ Pdpiv 42 (W.bhingtt>n. D.C .World b n k , 19HH). lthmrv and agricultural wage earn I n p fmm Llpton, Rrrr and fhr Putmt
32. Ft-rn~n~/at!t~n (11 pvmy fmm In*nr Ttnkcr, "Femtn~rinfi Drvelopmrnt- ttir iirnwth and Equ~tv," Hnt%s on Derel~ylmml Issum 6. CARE. New York, undalnl. Mavra Hurtnti dnd Margatvl A Lgrctte, " W o m ~ , Poverty, and DPvelopm~nf in lhr Third World," in lohn P lxwrs el al , SfrrrtgthrR(n~ fhr Ptxtr. Mu1 lhtr Wz Iflrnnf (New Bnrnsu~ick, N.I.. Transaction k k s , 198RJ. t-rtc-nl ol female poverty f ~ t m Liplon, Prrtr aad Ihr Pulml; women's lower tvminns Imm FAO. M~mm in F a d Pndrrtmn (Rome. 1983): women's addi. tionnl k ~ ~ h lime-in Bdn+dt.rh. Burkma Fw,. Nepal. and Tbnzania-from fkn White, ' N o l l m 1oSparr." Nm Intmtnwlst . Marrh 19BB; female bter. srv lap EnMl UNICEF. .%lr d fh W8rW's ChiMrm 1989, f a 59countrie6; v b leimb'nd lack nl n5hc h m Lori Heise, T r i m dGendw,' World Walrh. Marrh/April 1989; Brarillan woman quoted in Maria Lu i t r de Melo
Cdrvallnt, "Earth FIIO III All lhn.ctio~~. Ilir 1),11lr I IVW Ht!niv~~ III l11n.t. (V~.~~II%," (;r~i~+rt~!f\ ~~IvI~I~~III~III, \id I I , 2. IW;
33. t.lpti111. 1'1ktr ~ l r d lbc I'<wtn,.f and I'il:r3rlr I l r l L t ~ i l ~ l r r r r . ~ t ~ ,drrl I l c , ~ r c ~ ~ r , ,*,I 75 wntagc ot p r r undvr a , 111 IF .~nd t Ir~hf ri~i~rl.~ltt\ .III~III~); lh,, JI(WII ~v.(,IT~.II h' cd hdwd on ahwr JIIJ LNI('1 I - , (.11111. ($1 181, M<rfY r r 111l~lr~~1~ /'IS,(
37. Sov~r ! t inl~tn from Frthcr H I.vln. .'(,ls,nort t+Optanrng thc. lhwr trn
I'crerty," N m York Em*. lanuarv p. 1% l t r l m d rntm 1. tmw IVwhlrr. '70 Have and b v c Nut,' Mttlhcr /u~rt~~, Ih~~mhn IW
38. U.S. p)vert.rty f ~ m 5pnrvr K~th. "I'i1&vrty Lmrl ~ a h l r / t * ~ ~ I 31 MiII~rti." NJlrngton RBI. lktobr IU, IW, XU.mr 'Sbp~rumd R~rh-ri (,n'en*lon, llidrs lo Ihr b l t ty Nrfc P81wrty Pmqrrrm< and I'olltrr* m thc i fa f r~ IWathlngl6rn. DC Center un 'hdgd and [iullcy Pnuntm. I W f , q u ~ l y and m u m lnnd9 Irum Slephen Rau and b v ~ d F m l & , famrlq l a o w ~rr Ilu IOXih NN P ~ ~ I I I ~ an WIW. HusbPt~ds. and Y O U ~ ~ X AJuII* (~ail,hlny;ton. I) ( Eccmomlr i'ill~~ In~li lutc, 19681, and Hamnn, "Sorry Amerrcank-Yc~u'rc, !it111 No1 'kt lsr Off"; chtldron In poverty from Ford Fkundalm, 7'hr C n r w n tiud b r e l Wfdnoad thr Ammran Fulun(Nrs Yurk. Mag IW)
39. EduardoGabnr), O p n Vrrnr Nlaltrt A m r a - I r t r Crtrlunn d lhr ~'IIIR#~ 44 Conllnml (New Yurk: Monthly Rm.w I'ma, lY73l
41. l'&hlt~ 4 wurct,\ All g1t1b 111dt-\t-\ from l:AO, k x r t ~ i ~ l t ~ ~ r ~ ! f l!ttlct~t~$~ 111 fhk. I'K'Il IVv11~f (','t!,:$. (11 ,4grt! 111f1,rv A S f f l l ~ \ l t ~ 01 AII~w.~., bci)nt~rnti ,1nd k)c1,1I I)t,it.lurn~t'nt I'.lpvr 4 7 (Ronlr IUH4l. cn\nt,mh~p data trom W~l l l~ i rn ' I I i ~ t ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t h ~ ~ w ~ t t , 1 ~ ~ ~ t ~ o f ~ t t c I ) ~ ~ ~ ~ c / ~ I ~ ~ I ~ I ~ ~ I ~ I III !It<, l'lt~rd W,~rltl, 2nd VJ (New York I t~npndn*. IuHSI. IYRI. \%?rll Kt\ottr'(\ IqR8-XI): Padha Stnha. I r r t t i l h ~ n ~ ~ ~ ~ .A c . t w r l l < I'r~~l~h~ttt Fconrttn~c and slklal kvrli ipnwnl I'aprr ?H (Komc tAO. IUR4i. I'IIIIIF~IIIC~\ from lamcr Cl.rd. "[.and Minru Ahtsad," Fr r tsstrrrr I ,ol lcl tr: l~ Hc;'i,~ir,. lunc 23 , I V X X , M KlaJ El (;honrmy, t.d , Dt*~c~h~g~rt t~r~l 5lr,1fq1r\ fttr IRt. Kliritl Poor. kconornt( .IIIL~ SO~ia1 Dct.rlopmcnt I'aper 44 IK&lrnta I:AO. 1qfi.l)
l i ~ ~ ~ ~ l b ~ . ~ t c ~ ~ 11?tII N,~tr.l i t,~clh~s>~t~~ 111 D,.rvItt~,~~t$ CO~III~~IIZ Illhaca, N Y . Center
43. I'txn ~ncwr*tngl? lahm-n hon1 M~rhnel Ltpton with Richard Longhunt. Nrtl, >h'tl, r t t l t l I1t)ctr P,'lylc (Ba l t~m~r~. MJ lc~hns ttutpkrns Unlventtv Pms. IuPW. I a n d l r ~ ~ r c s ~ t%ttniates from Slnha, I ~ r t d l h ~ n t w .4 Grt,uvnfi Pmbltm. and Cl'orld C~~mm~rston nn Ennrc~nment and h\*elopmenl (WCED), Our ('<v!~!t~n Fttflrrt.(Nrw York- (hford Univrnlty Pmq, 1987).
44. \$'a~.lfic and prlcc trcnds fmm Pinstrup-Andersen, 'Food kmty and Strt~rlur.~l Adlustmcnl', labor force ~ r o w t h from H Jeffrey Leonard, "Ovrrvicw. Enr~ronment and the Poor," in H. Jeffrey Leonard et 11.. F ttt'ln~l~rnr#tr onil ~ IK Pnlr. ~ l o p n t m l SfrPttx~rs (01 B C m m A p n l (New Bmnav~cL. N.1: Transsaion Bon)rs. 19891: umployment and underemploy- ment fmm L~fcc~n. P~rrand fhr Rumt; qudr f m WCED. Our Cnmnnm Fulvw.
43. Vulnernhllttv hum Chambers, Pnttmnx thr hsf Fmnf; various rnicb in ms 61ttlrtr11. ApnllW
51. U\c of law* apalnst thr poor lrom C hdmhrrr rf dl . I r , flrt, Ilurld. $I/ rhr I'lhlr Wulvr and Trrr* ( N r w k l h ~ . Oxktrd L'nrvrrrltv ISrr%r .~nd INII. IVUQ), H w l l fmm Amnesty lntcrnrt~anil . Hrnrrl .41tlhprr:rJ \.i,,l?oir. rn Klrrirl .Ircur 'I ondon. IsXU), India from Chamhtm, Purlrnl f l r c Ia.1 Ir1.1. K~qhnrd W brankc and Bdrbard t l Charm, Kad~cul Rrklrtn an Ilrr3rb~p~arnt Kfrulr ~ l n t r . I~rde (San Francisco Institute for Flwd and I ) l~vel t~m~?l l I'c*l~t,v. In p n w I
52. Calcutta from Laplerrc. C ~ l v ~ ( l i y . Hanglodc%h lrrlm Ilarlmann ~ n d &lyre. A Qurrl Vrolrt~c~
S3. %eve A s h . 'Mobuto Come Calling," Afrna h'm*, lunr 12, IW; Jrmc* Brooke, 'Ivory Coast Church to Tower Ovrr St. l 'drr'+.'' Ndtu, htrl Trmr*. k t t m k r 19. I W .
54. World Bank, World Drorlopmcnt R r p ~ ~ r l 19RB, John l 'rnntr. "Taaing Pavcrty.' New lntrrn~tconalrrt. July 1967; Mexican u11 from Alan Rld~ng. D ~ r t r n i Ncr~hbors (New York: V~ntage BooksiRdndcrm tfoubr. IY84). N~gerun 011 from Collm. "Oil Shocks and Food Srcurttv In N~g~rra", W l h African diamonds from Francis W i h n and Mam la llrmphrb, UprnOlrg Pmrly : The b u l h Aprcan Chollrnp (New fork &. Nunm k CO . lsR9J. P h i l ~ p n e forestry fmm Ganth Porter w l ~ h Delfin J. C a ~ @ n Ir., k ~ r c e . Pqm hnr, a d Ik Pkrllppim' Future, Papr 4 t Wwhlngton. U.C . WRI, IW); Malaysian fisheries from Robert Birecl, "Malrvsirn F~shcrmen under Threat," P&&n 6CulfLmnmnat A u p l 1,lW.
$5. Her . o 6- Wo. The 0 t h ~ k rh : Thr 1n1CibC Rrm(uton in Ik Thtrd
M ~ l d (NOH. York. Harper & Row, 148q): Charnbrs et al., To rl~rHand>ol thc Rxlr; Calcutta fnim Lapirn, City ofl~rv
78 56. M~charl Rmnrr, N~ttttnal Srrl,rtty Thr ~lbnotntr and tirr~trnntnrirlrl UttttrHot~~~>, Wt~rldwatch Paper 89 (~dsh in~ ton ,~ .~ . . Wrldwalch Institute. junt. lunu), p,rtltm dRuv&nmt.nt r \pnJi tu ' and Third hturlJ mll~lary hudnrc lnum ACDA. &,I,N Mlrrt4irv Lk~rr!J~tut~4RR. ,haw of GSI: rmpurt ~nt;;ls~ty, job crratiun, and budgrt rrctird horn World Bank, ~ i r l d Lkr(qrtn~nl Krp~,t 1988
57. Ovcwirw fn~m World Bank. World Dr~rlripr)mt Rcgrrt 1988; electricity fnlm Christopher Flavm, Elrttrrctty fit? a nt~r/olr~#g World. Worldwatch Paper W (Washin~ton. U.C.: WOrldw~atch Institute, June 1984); agricultural exten- w n fmmChemk~. Putttug fhr [art FIM.
58. lntcrnatii~nal rsslstann from Liptun, Paw and thr Pwrrrt; Peter Peek, "How Equitableaw Rural Dcvelopmrnt Projects?' Inlrrnal~uflal Labur kr'w. Vol. 127, No. 1, I'M; cropand li\e.lock birses fmm Lipton Ncut Snds und Rvrr Pa*; Chambrs. Pultmg lhr last Ftnt.
59. CW Rica study from World &nk, World Dndopmrat Rigorl1989; ~ r a l credit from C. Dunald. Credtt for Small Farmrrr in Drwloping Counlrirr (Buulder, Colo.: Westrirw Press. 1976); labor-saving investment from Thirnnhum, 4.. A~mnir Rrfonl in Lalin Anmee.
60. World Bank. World Dcwlopmrnl k p r l 1988; 'Social *tar Pticins Policy," RNmk BnrftWwld Bnnk). June 1w.
62. Ibid; World H ~ l t h Organization fmm Sumn Okk, 'Health Crisis Confmn~1.3BiuwL" tWh@mP06).sepcmkr25,1989.
63. World Bank World D& RMn: Exmm~l DrM @ Pcalopcopcn# Countrirs. lsee-ss Mitin& FiRl Suppbnrm (w- D.C: lW.
U. World Bank. Ylbrll D& Ybbks: E x l n ~ I Deb1 4 h r b p i q Cmmtrks. 198869 Mltbh W. II Wsbbtm. D.C.: 1966).
65. Net rcrourcc transfer, from World Bank. Wi!rld O r h l lahlrr. I trrl Suppkm~nt; rnvinrnmental Impact al L+I*I tmm WC'FI). ( $ r ( ctrnmtln I ufrtn
66. Elfms d intern1 ralm frcm World I n k . Mrld Ihrltrl,~tr~uf l t q w l r r l4M 79 67. Prlmarv commadlty deprndentr from W( FD, 1 l~rr I'rlwr~ntttr lufr#rr. Waldrn k l l o , Braiv Nruq Thrnl World' Slr~rfr#~~*$ h r \rrr~'rir l rtt Ihr 1,brhul h8rfttlnty, Fwd Fin1 Dcvcbpmtvt Rrp~rt 5 (%n Frdr~lu II In*I~luIr lor F w d and kvr lupmcn~ Pultcy, IWI, 1% terms 111 tmdc. Imw> l n ~ m llc~hrlt Rnud and John Cavdnagh. "No Morc NlC'a." I'c~rc~r~n PIIIIC V , l:aIl lUHU I . I ~ u ~ Y 1 rnurrcr. rr)mfpdrIy pnrcS rndcx lrtrm Wr~rld I*nL In WHI. Rnld Rrrwrre\ 198849; Thrrd Mnld debt from Wivld Bdnk. Wld Ikhf Tbhln I t t r t ~ l lhhf nl Dnrloprrl~ Co~orlrr~. I Y W Edltli~n. VIII I ad VcvI Ill
611. Causes of declinlna term nflradr (nrm Wald Bank, WtrW flrt'ltrmn~ff Rtprt I Y B R . sugar l r i m Bruad and C.I\JPJ&. 'Vo H~srr SIC*. tlrnnr Svdrbl~d. 'B~vtrrhnol~~nv Consrocrencrs lor Wt-I A1rl.sn Counlrlrr 111
69. Eumpean lariff and cnst of prutectionilm hDm Wr~rld Rank, World bblcr. Vol. I (Washington, D.C.: IW1BJ:cost uf s arpncrrtfn for I*) lm World bnk. MrId Dnrlupmnl Rqwrl 1986 ( ~ 3 l n g t u n . I1.C 1%)
m. TOW flisht capitatfrom Man Moffw, 'Mcrico's Ca I fl~ght Still r(dckx ~mnomy Despite the Brrdy Plm," Wall Slmt pmr&rmbn 25. I* Brady auote and Venezuela capital flight fmm David R Fnnca. "A U.S. SikS&ng for Capital FIight,"~hrrsl~n Srtrntr Manrlor. March 27. 1%'). \hwm&'sd& Im Hbrld Bonk, W Drhr Dbln. FIN SuppLmrnt
n. Adiustmi succcrrs from World &nk, W a d W i ' p m n l Rrpat 1989; Chrkr H u m p h a d William jaepr, " A W r MiWtmmt and Gmwth." md S. S&hid H u i n . W v h g Gmwlh in h(h, hamicd." krth m iinrnrr *ad Dcaclopmrnt June 1969 rd/ustmrnl nuccrn dls uted by Mdvyn ~ , s ~ a k , w : ~ ~ , w y l ~ ; L S ~ n d m n 7006 s ~ n u i y d -PI M-; qmtum EW x t m u n , Mjurfamt hp81116 rrul bthl Welfarr, Dbnurbn P a p r U (WaMngtm, DT: W 6 '. 1W.
IWJ, numkr of d p s k e n t p u b ~ lrom n C h u , nsauthe; Soo.1 Dimnuonso( A d ~ m r n l Runram. World 3 Washinnton. DC.. wivrh
73. UNICEF, SlaCaf lhr Wald's Cbifdm 1989; and de k h n h r a , 'CMM of 1hr l*."
74. Cntrhfleld. V t l l o p . M u ) w l hpbn , d ~ m t o of Food Conwmpt~on and Numaon hopnm. IFPRl. W ~ m o n v M o m Sukanmcc on Trchndopv ud
75. Sheldon Annb, visitlnn fellow, Overvrr Drvrhpmmt Council, "Debl and the En~.tronmcnt In ~ & b l Amcnu.' ~nttmony' brfore S u ~ t t ~ on lnternrt~onrl Economk Policy. h d t . Ocanr. and the Envtmnment.
76. Tmrrlty He lp Productivity: h r c h Bnrf (World &nU, S Roberl Chambers, 'Poverty, Environment and the World m'zl o p p o r m n i t y l o r r N n r ~ I O S . ~ b o h S c p t m \ b a l W .
n Ydda\~~ia,TobRicr '~hdDebt ASmrJAboutrtic&(bunay that Did Thin s Right.' unpublished mrnurcript p n p r r e d for WRI, ~l~ahtyroh D$.. 1 una 1985. 7
.IWI 'w .(UP.JV IWWW :.>a '=~UNW i d * jJ4nUWw hl lddld UtlWUQ It0 > > U J I ~ / M O ~ >ylJ0 68~!~1230ld '(all-) t u w d o l m ~ a yruortruJaip1 roj ABolouq>aj pur aua!* uo p ~ w g UOJJ
.,,Irmyi UI u n w @a& 'ueax3u 'V u r r % e ~ ptr ( I+~J 'J u p ( .LP
' b ~ d XuyuuJn 'qaqdwq pur W~IM wcq P>~JJV qlnw ,8861 ~snsnv/illnl 'wt~auzruo.~
l u l ~ . ) y ~ uvul puq! trraqv~u 'unln j ~rallrl~fryd * I pus u u t l q n d t ~ U'IW'U# UWlJ WcUJ UU%II)l&J 'LUU.ICUI WJ 'WTU PllW)UmU UIO1, 'a
W. 1. DlrckStryk~r, 'Ttvhnoli~gv, Huma and %ml.Arld Tn~plrs." in Leonard r l 5wamlnrth'1n, from Fan-word to BOST 82 h l u r t , ~ . Maaa~rn~ci i~ .
'It. R<~hrn Chmhen and Melissa Leach. . . T ~ B S Sav~ngs and Security for ~k Rural I'inu," WIK/~/ LklYIopn~rnl. VoI. 17, NO 4 19119 93. Tlm Camp4wll. " U b n h v e l n p m m t in the Third World: Envimnmentdl I)rlcmman and the Urban Pimr." in Ltvnard ut al, En~~irurrmrrrl nnd Ihr Ptmr; air vollulion from Global Env~rclnmcnt Monttorlnn Svstem (GEMS), ~r.E*bnlcrrl .a1 IIrhlln Ajr Vu8lrlv ( h r l r o b U n l k d ~ a i ; o n s En\,lronment I'n,gram IUUEP) and World Health Orpnrzal~on. 1988)
94. Campbel l , 'Urban Development in the Third World'; Leonard, 'Overview: Environmenl a n d t h r Poor": Cenler for Science a n d Enviwnment. T h Stalr~flndm'r f:nvironnrmt198(-85 (New Delhi: 1985).
9% Pubk Data Arccar. Toric Wnrln aird k tn kk Unrtd S t a h : A Nalansl Rrprr nm lhc Rucial and SUCm.Econom1r Char~clrristic~ of Communities with Hamrdau.c Waslr Sires ((New Ymk: United Church of Chrirt Commission for l d r l Justirr. 1987); Jay M. CMLM. Q ~ ~ l i k y of LIJT rn Awrkwrc Nrigb&rhmd$: Lmlr of Alpurnrr. Toxic Wastea and Cancrr Marblity b Rntdmfiul Zip Codr Ams (Boulder. Cdo.: W * w h, 1986); Dick RusseU, 'Envimnmentsl R*cirm" Amxus Inuml. 1969.
96. Cynlhi P o U a k Shlu, P m l e r l ~ g Lift arc Eatfh: S t e p lo L w I& Otonr Lbycr, Worldwrfch P s p r 87 (Washington. D.C.: Worldwvch Institute. Dccmbef I*).
97. Christopher F k v i n . Sloring Clnhl W e m ~ n g : A WarUwidr Slralcgy, Waldntch P.pc 91 (W D.C.: b i d w a t c h I ~ . ~ 1WJ. a snh*c, -Z . -And I It cmu~. thapmr w RaOv RlalHit'I- ~.ApiI10,1981).
99. Dcscnif ica l ion from UNEP. C c n t r 8 ~ A s ~ w a e n l c3fPrograrin the
Implrmcnfrtrnn of fbr Plun o(Atf11111 111 1'<1rnhat I I t ~ v r r f ~ f r r r l r t ~ ~ ~ l q : R l4W1 (Nalnibi. IYBII; f u c l w ~ x d from FAO. f rrrlslrmt Saplrltr. rr llrr Ilt~i~rlqrrnp Cc~unlnrr;. Forntry Paper 42 (Kc~mr IuHII, mtnmtntn v l r ~ p n lnw A lcthn 1% knr. "Sustatnahlr Apprcwrho to I l ~ l l * t d r Agncellurrl r)c.rreIoprnvnt:' tn 83 Lc.r~nard rl dl., Et~c~rronmrrtl unrl llrr I'IN!~, k1n4s from Normnn Mvcrs, lh, P r ra ry Suurrr: Troprral Fnrrrt. and Our F~r!urriNrw Yorh W.W hitnletr h Cv.. 1%); GEMS, &m?il111rft1 I!( Llrhln Arr c)uali$
1M. Quoted in Bill Rau and Swan Rurhc. "Wr~rk ln~ior the R I I ~ d F m d m Alrlcan I n ~ t i d t i v r r for Changr." A f r ~ r a Faith and lusf l r r N r tw t~ rk , Washington, PC. lW
101. Gandhi quote frnm Rnt*rt Chamkrr. private communtcafmn. arflv. day* from L.C. lain, "Poverty, Env~ronment, Drvrlopmenl A Vtrw lrcrm Candht'r Window." Econcmrr and f'vlrtrral Wrrkly. Frhrurrv 1 T, I'JHH. C h a m h . Pvr l i n~ fhr Lasf f rn f
103. Alan B Durnlng, Arlrerr u l Ihr Crr.*r#nlr Fryhrrng fJor~rrlmaad Entnmmmhl k l m n e , Worldwatch P a p RII IWhtngton. DC Worldwn~ch Instttule, January 1989). and Alan B Dumtng, 'Pcc~plc I'c~wsr dnd Dwekfmmt." F m g n P d q , Fall 15UY
IM. Kevin H d y , Inter-American Foundation (UF), A r l t n j p . Va.. pdv~@ Rmmunlatan, &1ober4.1909.
105. IAF, 'Project History Crn tm d r Educocldn T tm lc r Mumml r t k r A g m p m u ~ (CEIHA),' Arlington, Va.. undrted, Herly. p)vr(r m m u w ocbn; I d lUnwy horn Lpon. Pm m d fk Paver. and MI I.. Iambson, Plmrfng f k Glob1 Fmmrly, Wnrldwmlch PIP 80 lWa+h~nglun. D.C.: Worldwakh Instituk. Dccmkr !Om).
~ourtrrmhbabo (&: Link. &own 1968): Yuarmrqud In kiw~ ~ , ~ a a & t t c r ~ r . ' 0 m ~ m S r ~ M u r t ~ . M u c h U - 1 ~ .
Hnrrk III Hnrr$brlcdr. Research Repon 65 (~nshm&, D.C. IFI'RI. IWl.
108. Turhnar Shah, "Cfiinr from Sncial Fi~mtry: mnr frum West Bengal." IDS Discussion Paprr243. Brighton, April 1 M .
109. Anil Agarrsl and Sunild Narain. "The ~ & i n g oi tndm." lllrlrlml~d M k l y II/ Irrdts, June 4. IW.
110. Norman Uphoff, l ~ a l Instihrtmrml Ikrvlupr ,. Arr Arralytrral S o u r t . d d tlqirk Caws(Wesl Harlford.Conn.: ~ u m a r i a n s a r , 1986); John Mukelp, "Plpcd WnIer hy the People," in Panos Insti le. 7111r~ardl 5~starniihlr Ot i~~I~y~s~crr t (Londun: 1987); Mesun Nyironga. U$ Agency for Int-rional Dwelopmmt/Mnlawi Mission, Lilongwe. Malawi. private curnmunratlon. OFtokr 4. I W .
111. UNICEF. St,rh.nftlr W)rld's Cbrldrrrr 1989
112. Populntlon Reference Bureau. "Making Community Distribution Work," Washingion. D.C.. Novembrr IQ87
113. Ibid; w m n wishing to Umit their Clo)nl Fnrn111~.
114. Dlscr~mlnrt~on agarnst untouchabler clted In t k r b r r Joshr, ed . Urtm~luNe' Hun rf tIu Lblrl L k n t u n M a n m t (Loadon: Zed 1%)
11s. Janet Durna and Manabendre Mandal. "Le a1 Rights fur Poor Women-SLARTC in tndir." in Richard H U I L W V , ed.. Doing Drrtlopmcnl-Csffrumcat~~ NtOs md fbr Rural Poor in AEU (London: m h s a h 19BP). 7
114. Banglrdnh Rural Advancement Committee ( B W ) , 'Unnvding N & w b d ComD(ioa.' in Kmca 4.. Comnunh Ahamml. 117. Cluarkn. ~ i t t t n ~ rhr Lnl Ftnt: BRAC. ' u ~ & v & Networks d C m u ~
Inlrrndt~onol Alfulr,. Fall 1988; Cold War from Rrrud rnd Crvrnngh, "No More NlCs " Srr also M. Shah~d Alhm, "The Slruth Korean ' U ~ r r t l r ' Fwrn~nrng the Mix ol Cuvcrnment and Mdrhtn: klurtrl d Ihv10p111,t <.(rhlr. January IW. 85 119. &11~1,8~rrrrv Nm' T'h~rll World', t l r r ~d and bvarugh, "No M o w NIC*."
120. Frant and Cha$in, Kvala Sllrtr. lr~dla
121. Ibid.
122. Ibid, ~ishington, D.C., ~nlant mortnltty from M~charl Abrdm~wItt, -Infant Mortal~ty Soars Here," Wash111~to~lJ~11. Scpttmbrr ?(I. 1YRY. Washington, DL., per capita income ln,m'~hn rev and Grcrnatrlti, !I&* m rlu Sapy Nets. adjustpd Im purcL~anR pawn & b m m m rnd I lwun
123. Joan Menchcr quoted in Frdnke and Chain, Krrrla blrtr. 111dw. Munc Nag, "Political Awawnes as a Factor in Acr4h l I ty of Health Srwm A Caw Study of Rural Kerdh and WLYI Benpl," &U~U)III and Pol~trral M l y . h r y 27,1969.
124. Plnrlrup-Andenen, 'Fwd Securtty and Structural Ad)urtmenl"; PlnrtrupAndmun, dimtor, Nutrbtiorul Suwellhnce h $ t & m . CoTnr\l University. I t h w , N.Y., private munlcatim, Qa& 13,1989 !kc ~IY). Pinrtrup-Anderaen; 'Macroeconomic Adjultment Policin and H u m n Nubition.'
125. Linda Feldmrnn, 'Bush Announces Plan to Forgive Sub-%h.:m Afrkr's DQ~, ' Chri$fr#n Scirnrr Moultor, July 10.198% Mkhrel Qumt, I k d f r Dcbl PLn Fvrdrg Bi8 8.nL To 1- Loucr," New Yort T h slphnaa 21,1984.
127. Porter, &IOYIC~S. Populntms, .mi tht PLiliyprus' Fulwrr, W U h ~ ' P a a r a n N c w r L M ~ ~ ~ ' ~
A&nculturr (USIjA). Washington, D.C., pnvatr mmunicatmn, October 12. 1989; USDA. l g r t r u ! l ~ r a ( Y s l ~ s l ~ c $ I I ( I D , C Government 86 I'rinting Mice, IW).
11. In tc r~ t~ona l Fund lor Agrirullural (kvrlu&ment, i988 Annudl R t p r l . (Rome. 1%).
ALAN 0. DURNING is a Senior Researcher 04 the Worldwatch Institute. whem he inveuthtea eauitv hues ud l d initiatives to addms lobal r0blems.b h &nubor of three of the Institute's & &W amiruthmofwnntdc
$%~sIwW P t n W y a n d E & - W ~ Mr. Durntng holds d e g m r in philosophy and musk horn tht Okrlin Co&ge and Cwaul tay .
