Poverty Dynamics ─ Interdisciplinary Perspectives

This collection of essays provides a state-of-the-art examination of the concepts and methods that can be used to understand poverty dynamics. It does this from an interdisciplinary perspective and includes the work of anthropologists, economists, sociologists, and political scientists. The contributions included highlight the need to conceptualise poverty from a multidimensional perspective and promote Q-Squared research approaches, or those that combine quantitative and qualitative research.

The first part of the book provides a review of the research on poverty dynamics in developing countries. Part Two focuses on poverty measurement and assessment, and discusses the most recent work of world-leading poverty analysts. The third part focuses on frameworks for understanding poverty analysis that avoid measurement and instead utilize approaches based on social relations and structural analysis.

There is widespread consensus that poverty analysis should focus on poverty dynamics and this book shows how this idea can practically be taken forward.

Tony Addison is Executive Director of the Brooks World Poverty Institute (BWPI) University of Manchester, Associate Director of the Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC), and Professor of Development Studies, University of Manchester. He is currently working on chronic poverty, post-conflict reconstruction and development finance.

David Hulme is Professor of Development Studies at the University of Manchester and Associate Director of the Brooks World Poverty Institute and the Chronic Poverty Research Centre. His research interests include rural development; poverty analysis and poverty reduction strategies; finance for the poor and sociology of development. At present he is a senior research fellow with the Leverhulme Trust.

Ravi Kanbur is T. H. Lee Professor of World Affairs, International Professor of Applied Economics and Management, and Professor of Economics at Cornell University. He has held various positions at the World Bank and has also served as Director of the World Bank's World Development Report.