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The Constraints to Escaping Rural Poverty: An Analysis of the Complementarities of Assets in Developing Countries
Author(s) -
Foster William,
Valdés Alberto,
Davis Benjamin,
Anríquez Gustavo
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
applied economic perspectives and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.4
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 2040-5804
pISSN - 2040-5790
DOI - 10.1093/aepp/ppr031
Subject(s) - poverty , complementarity (molecular biology) , developing country , asset (computer security) , economics , agriculture , business , development economics , economic growth , public economics , geography , genetics , computer security , archaeology , computer science , biology
Based on Food and Agriculture Organization data for 15 developing countries, we examine household characteristics, asset bundles and income‐generating activities of the rural poor. Assets aid in exiting poverty, not independent of one another, but rather in combination. We develop an approach to estimate the complementarities between education, farm size and infrastructure. Limited access to the three assets of interest here (susceptible to medium‐ and long‐term interventions) might prevent moving a large number of small farmers out of poverty in the short‐term (even with support programs). Increased land holding often has lower poverty‐reducing potential, and when its potential is high, it is in countries where most land is divided among small operations (for example, Bangladesh). Education is confirmed as highly poverty‐alleviating, and has a high complementarity with infrastructure.