I picked up this series of articles about ending global poverty somewhere. Below are some of the interesting tidbits. If these interest you too, make sure to check out the whole series of articles.
:: In 1981, 1.5 billion people survived on less than $1 a day, according to World Bank household surveys. By 2001, that number had dropped 27 percent, to just over 1 billion. That means well over 400 million people no longer face the lethal burden of extreme poverty.
:: While humanitarian assistance has saved millions, consider this startling conclusion from a recent study by the Center for Global Development: When aid rises to 8 percent of a recipient nation's gross domestic product, it has zero effect on economic growth. Above that, it has a negative effect.
:: The world's richest 500 individuals have the same income as the poorest half-billion.
:: Change from within must be driven by brave people in the country, to assure the relevance, acceptance, and success of any assistance or reform.
:: Abolishing all barriers to trade in goods and services could increase global income by $2.8 trillion and lift 320 million people out of poverty by 2015, according to a 2002 World Bank statement.
:: From 1981 to 2001, 400 million people there lifted themselves out of extreme poverty. Their numbers as a share of population fell from 53 to just 8 percent. Effectively, 80 percent of the world's progress in ending abject poverty has happened in China, independent of foreign aid.
[Related - my series of notes from The End of Poverty.]
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