"The authors examine the empirical evidence in support of the poverty trap view of underdevelopment. They calibrate … simple aggregate growth models in which poverty traps can arise due to either low saving or low technology at low levels of … development. They then use these models to assess the empirical relevance of poverty traps and their consequences for policy. The …

"Theories of poverty traps stand in sharp contrast to the view that anybody can make it through hard work and thrift …. However, empirical detection of poverty traps is complicated by the lack of long panels, measurement error, and attrition … dynamics and testing for the presence of poverty traps. The paper explicitly allows for individual heterogeneity in income …

"This paper examines how households trade off migration and savings when subject to exogenous violence. The authors … propose that households under violence decide jointly on migration and saving, because a higher asset-stock is more difficult … to carry to a new place. When confronted with exogenous violence, households are expected to consider migration, and …

guerrillas and paramilitaries, gang violence among drug traffickers, and high common delinquency. In this context, households … authors test the hypothesis that households, when confronted with exogenous violence, reduce their investment and, moreover … strongly supports the hypothesis. The results shed new light on the economic impact of violence. The immediate reduction in …