The overlapping crises of COVID-19, climate change, and rising levels of conflict are exacerbating global inequalities. This book offers a definition and framework for social sustainability, as well as examples and concrete guidance on how development can foster progress towards it.

Over the last decade, the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region has experienced a steady decline in poverty rates. This trend has been accompanied by strong income growth of the bottom 40 percent, which is the World Bank Group's indicator for measuring shared prosperity. Nonetheless, further poverty reduction and steady income growth of the bottom 40 percent face challenges as LAC has witnessed both a slowdown of economic activity and a decline in the pace of inequality reduction. This book recognizes that the emphasis on improving the welfare of the less well-off in LAC requires transformational policies that restore growth and preserve macroeconomic stability, while at the same time reinforcing the ability of the less advantaged groups to participate in and contribute to growth. This book unpacks the trends and drivers of poverty reduction and shared prosperity in eleven LAC countries while also discussing the sustainability of development patterns at the country level. An overview chapter takes a comprehensive look at the heterogeneity of social outcomes and development challenges across this region of the world. Drawing upon the country chapters, four policy areas emerge which are relevant for reinforcing the links between growth and equity in LAC: (1) equitable and sustainable fiscal and macroeconomic policies; (2) fair and accountable public institutions capable of delivering quality basic services; (3) accessible and competitive markets; and (4) adequate risk management.

Broad-based growth is critical for accelerating poverty reduction. But income inequality also affects the pace at which growth translates into gains for the poor. Despite the attention researchers have given to the relative roles of growth and inqequality in reducing poverty, little is known about how the microunderpinnings of growth strategies affect poor households' ability to participate in and profit from growth. 'Delivering on the Promise of Pro-Poor Growth' contributes to the debate on how to accelerate poverty reduction by providing insights from eight countries that have been relatively successful in delivering pro-poor growth: Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Tunisia, Uganda, and Vietnam. It integrates growth analytics with the microanalysis of household data to determine how country policies and conditions interact to reduce poverty and to spread the benefits of growth across different income groups. This title is a useful resource for policy makers, donor agencies, academics, think tanks, and government officials seeking a practical framework to improve country level diagnostics of growth-poverty linkages.