This commentary poses a series of progressively harder questions in the economic analysis of growth, inequality and poverty. Starting with relatively straightforward analysis of the relationship between growth and inequality, the first-level hard questions arise when we ask what policies and...

The present study uses the concept of ‘social consciousness’ to address the problem whether elites possess attitudes and beliefs which are essentially ‘pro-poor’. Though poverty is often manifested in their own neighbourhood, their direct interaction with the poor is limited. There is...

Initial debate on poverty focused mainly on poverty measurement and effectiveness of poverty alleviation measures. After the publication of the Human Development Report there was a significant change in the academic view about Poverty. It is well accepted now that poverty cannot be captured only...

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of health on labour productivity surrogated by income at the household level. Using data from a nationally representative survey of 73, 868 households conducted from January to June 2004 in India, this paper shows that the burden of income...

Natural resources (NR) such as land, water, trees, plants and air provide the basis upon which human and other living beings survive and carry on their varied activities like agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism. However, most of the societies being characterised by socio-cultural...

Issues relating to urban poverty are attaining primacy in social science research today due to the increasing expansion of cities and towns. This has been caused by migration from rural areas but, of late, much more by the aspiring urban communities/individuals that move from one urban area to...