Global Estimates of Pro-poor Growth

The m ain objective of the present paper is to present a cross-country analysis of pro-poor grow th in 80 countries in 237 grow th spells during the period 1984-2001. To achieve this objective, the paper proposes a new m easure of pro-poor grow th that captures gains and losses of grow th rates due to changes in the distribution of consum ption. The gains im ply propoor grow th, w hile the losses im ply anti-poor grow th. The statistical test carried out in the paper show s that regional location of countries has a significant association w ith the propoorness of grow th. The paper also attem pts to test for the association betw een grow th patterns and certain variables that the literature has identified as significant determ inants of grow th and inequality. O ut of m any variables, the paper focuses on four, nam ely, inflation, the share of agriculture in GDP, openness to trade, and the rule of law . Keyw ords: Pro-poor grow th, grow th, poverty, global estim ates. JEL Classification: O 40, I32, D31, O 53, O 57 ∗ W e are grateful to Peter Tow nsend and Dag Ehrenpreis for their helpful com m ents and suggestions. Em ail address for correspondence: hyun.son@ undp-povertycentre.org; Tel: 55-61-2105 5025; Fax: 55-61-2105 5001/5002. 2 International Poverty Centre W orking Paper no 31