Following rapid economic growth in recent decades, Asia and the Pacific experienced an impressive reduction in extreme poverty, but this drop was not uniform and achievements are still incomplete. Vulnerability to natural disasters, the increasing impact of climate change and economic crises should all be taken into account. There is also a need to consider the multidimensional nature of poverty and the non-uniformity of the decrease across different ethnic groups. This book explores the Asian 'poverty miracle' and argues for the development and use of an Asia-specific poverty line. This is a timely and multidimensional assessment of the much neglected issues of, and links between, poverty, vulnerability and ethnicity in Asia. It will be of great interest to lecturers and researchers of Asian development and economics, along with policymakers, public and private institutions, NGOs and international aid agencies. Contributors include: V. Berenger, S.R. Chakravarty, N. Chattopadhyay, T. Fujii, C. Gradin, L. Hohfeld, S. Klasen, J. Silber, H. Waibel, G. Wan

This work focuses on urban governance in the developing world, its aim being to bring a holistic perspective to the debate on urban governance in Asia and around the globe. It has been divided into three sections: The first section is on rural interventions as they influence urbanization and its problems/solutions. The second focuses on urban governance, infrastructure programs, service delivery reforms and their evaluation. The third and final section focuses on urbanization and the environment. In the first section, we present evaluations of India’s rural programs including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), and of India’s Total Sanitation Campaign. This section covers the transition from rural to urban areas, and highlights coping mechanisms in urban areas and policy implications for urban governance, from the viewpoint of rural migrants. The section on urban governance, infrastructure and service delivery is the most in-depth and consists of papers that present state-of-the-art research on many aspects of infrastructure such as cost and time overruns, risks and their mitigation, assessments of the metro rail, and services such as solid waste management. The focus of the final section is on urbanization and the environment. Here we examine land use change in India, the relationship between urban form and residential energy use in Bandung, Indonesia, and end by depicting a cautiously optimistic view of Asia’s urbanization-environment nexus.

This work focuses on urban governance in the developing world, its aim being to bring a holistic perspective to the debate on urban governance in Asia and around the globe. It has been divided into three sections: The first section is on rural interventions as they influence urbanization and its problems/solutions. The second focuses on urban governance, infrastructure programs, service delivery reforms and their evaluation. The third and final section focuses on urbanization and the environment.

In the first section, we present evaluations of India s rural programs including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), and of India s Total Sanitation Campaign. This section covers the transition from rural to urban areas, and highlights coping mechanisms in urban areas and policy implications for urban governance, from the viewpoint of rural migrants.

The section on urban governance, infrastructure and service delivery is the most in-depth and consists of papers that present state-of-the-art research on many aspects of infrastructure such as cost and time overruns, risks and their mitigation, assessments of the metro rail, and services such as solid waste management.

The focus of the final section is on urbanization and the environment. Here we examine land use change in India, the relationship between urban form and residential energy use in Bandung, Indonesia, and end by depicting a cautiously optimistic view of Asia s urbanization-environment nexus."

Since many policymakers aspire to pull their countries out of the middle-income trap and into the ranks of high-income countries, they must understand the factors that hinder or support the transition. This book defines the middle-income trap and examines the roles of manufacturing, finance, and trade openness in achieving sustainable development. The book also explores the role of government policy in fostering growth in the People's Republic of China. A common theme is that such policies may have unforeseen side effects that undermine their effectiveness, including how the hukou registration system and land-use policy control the pace of urbanization.

This book is Open Access under a CC BY license. This volume offers an essential resource for economic policymakers as well as students of development economics focusing on the interrelationships of migration, urbanization and poverty in Asia. The continent's recent demographic transitions and rural-urban structural transformations are extraordinary, and involve complexities that require in-depth study. The chapters within this volume examine those complexities using a range of traditional and non-traditional measures, such as multidimensional poverty, gaps and polarization, to arrive at the conclusion that poverty is now an urban issue. In short, the book will help students of development economics and policymakers understand the interrelationships between internal migration, urbanization and poverty, paving the way for the improved management of internal migration and disadvantaged and vulnerable populations.

This volume provides comprehensive updated coverage of inequality and poverty issues in China. Some of the methodologies developed herein are published for the first time and may be used in other contexts and for other countries. The use of different data sources and state-of-art research techniques ensures that the findings and conclusions can be substantiated and that the policy recommendations are reliable and robust. Contributors to this volume are renowned experts in their respective areas, including, notably, Justin Lin, Xing Meng, Kai-yuen Tsui, and Guanghua Wan. For these reasons, those with an interest in income distribution in general and China's development in particular, will find this volume essential reading.
Rapidly rising inequality in China has contributed to the sluggishness of domestic demand and emerging poverty. It has thus exerted considerable pressure for commodity exports and represents a root cause of increased trade disputes. These have profound ramifications for the US, EU, and other economies, and the international business community. Consequently, economists and sociologists, among others, are increasingly focused upon inequality and poverty issues in China and relevant policy implications.
This volume, arising from a two-year UNU-WIDER project, addresses issues that include the inequality-growth relationship, regional/personal variation in incomes and human well-being such as education, the determinants of inequality and poverty or their changes, gaps in innovation capability, and the role played by China's development strategies in affecting inequality.

This book looks at the major policy challenges facing developing Asia and how the region sustains rapid economic growth to reduce multidimensional poverty through socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable measures. Asia is facing many challenges arising from population growth, rapid urbanization, provision of services, climate change and the need to redress declining growth after the global financial crisis. This book examines poverty and related issues and aims to advance the development of new tools and measurement of multidimensional poverty and poverty reduction policy analysis. The book covers a wide range of issues, including determinants and causes of poverty and its changes; consequences and impacts of poverty on human capital formation, growth and consumption; assessment of poverty strategies and policies; the role of government, NGOs and other institutions in poverty reduction; rural-urban migration and poverty; vulnerability to poverty; breakdown of poverty into chronic and transitory components; and a comparative study on poverty issues in Asia and other regions. The book will appeal to all those interested in economic development, resources, policies and economic welfare and growth.