1 / 13

Persistent Poverty in Africa: Why and How You Can Help

Persistent Poverty in Africa: Why and How You Can Help. Chris Barrett Cornell University October 12, 2012 TST BOCES New Visions Life Sciences Program. Persistent ultra-poverty.

shaquana-young
Download Presentation

Persistent Poverty in Africa: Why and How You Can Help

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Persistent Poverty in Africa: Why and How You Can Help Chris Barrett Cornell University October 12, 2012 TST BOCES New Visions Life Sciences Program

  2. Persistent ultra-poverty Rapid, large-scale poverty reduction is possible … as demonstrated by a generation of rapidly falling global poverty rates, especially in East Asia. But no real progress in sub-Saharan Africa in the last 25 years. Source: World Bank, PovCalNet

  3. Persistent ultra-poverty The big challenge is the persistence of concentrated ultra-poverty … in Africa, where it has almost doubled in a generation. Africa is now home to 65% of the world’s ultra-poor, up from 12%. Source: World Bank, PovCalNet

  4. Becoming ultra-poor Many Are Born Poor and Stay Poor But Why Do Others Become Poor, Replacing Those Who Escape Poverty? • Health Shocks (malaria, HIV/AIDS, etc.) • Conflict/war • Natural Disasters (drought, flood) • Unemployment • The public and private safety nets we take for granted rarely exist in SSA

  5. Staying ultra-poor Once Poor, Why Do People Remain Poor? - Poor early childhood health/nutrition - Limited education - Lack access to finance to invest in livestock, land, improved technologies - Underdeveloped markets - Social exclusion (race, gender, ethnicity, etc.) … all keep the poor from making enough to invest in growing richer … ‘poverty traps’

  6. “May the odds be ever in your favor” Who has a real shot at escaping poverty? Under-five mortality rate = 18% Elem. school completion rate = 48% 14-16 yr old HIV/AIDS positive = 8% Face regular violent conflict = ~20% … Only 20-30% have a good shot at an African middle class life under current education, health and security situation .. And most face a much higher likelihood of dying a preventable, poverty-related death (cholera, typhoid, measles, childbirth …)

  7. Changing the odds How Do Some Climb/Stay Out of Poverty? • Maintain good health: avoid illness/injury • Education • Some cash to invest: savings, loans, gifts, remittances … it takes $ to make $ • Reasonable, reliable access to markets • Peace … Not much different from the US! All are scalable … we can change the odds?

  8. Why should we care? Reasons: Humanitarian/ethical - Golden rule Economic - Future markets/suppliers Security/geo-political - Prospective source of insecurity Environmental - Conservation of forests, wildlife Health - Controlling pandemics

  9. How does the world help? Net aid given by governments: ~7.5 ¢ per day per person (overstated due to “tying”) Private gifts (foundations, companies and individuals): ~ 6 ¢ per day per person Develop new technologies, better institutions, smarter policies through businesses, governments, NGOs: - health care (incl. lower pricing by drug companies) - improved information/communications technologies - agricultural, water, energy, transport and other technologies (universities/research institutes) - policy research (universities/think tanks) - (good) job creation by businesses

  10. What can you do? • Recognize, be grateful for and make good use of the opportunities you have here in the US! Young Africans only dream of your opportunities. • Be informed and speak up to our political leaders • Sponsor a child, buy alternative gifts this Christmas season,etc. • Luke 12:48: “To whom much has been given, much is expected.” • Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

  11. “Most of the people in the world are poor, so if we knew the economics of being poor we would know much of the economics that really matters. Most of the world’s poor people earn their living from agriculture, so if we knew the economics of agriculture we would know much of the economics of being poor.” - Theodore W. Schultz Opening sentences of 1979 Nobel Prize in Economics lecture Africa is the world’s most agrarian/rural continent. Life sciences majors have uncommon capacity to help!

  12. If you had been born to a poor woman in rural Africa, what would you want others to do for you?

  13. Thanks for your interest!

More Related