How did we come to think that eliminating poverty is a legitimate goal for public policy? What policies emerged in the … hope of attaining that goal? The last 200 years have witnessed a dramatic change in thinking about poverty. Mainstream … economic thinking in the eighteenth century held that poverty was necessary and even desirable for a country's economic success …

While the incidence of extreme poverty in China fell dramatically over 1980-2001, progress was uneven over time and … pattern of growth mattered. Rural economic growth was far more important to national poverty reduction than urban economic … the rural sector greatly slowed poverty reduction. Provinces starting with relatively high inequality saw slower progress …

"An overview of the economic development of and policies intended to combat poverty around the world." …"While there is no denying that the world has made huge progress against absolute poverty over the last 200 years … greater progress against poverty in the developing world in recent times-indeed, a faster pace of progress against extreme …