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Rural Poverty in Developing Countries: Issues and Policies

International Monetary Fund, April 1, 2000

The purpose of this paper is to review some important aspects of rural poverty and draw on key implications for public policy. In most developing countries a large portion of the poor are in rural areas and their povery is generally far more severe than in urban areas. The causes of rural poverty are complex and multidimensional, involving the forces of nature, markets and public policy. Likewise the rural poor are quite diverse in their resource endowments and links to markets and the government and their strategies to deal with vulnerability and risk. This paper indentifies the rural poor and develops a policy framework for reducing poverty. It then discusses several options for poverty alleviation, including stable macroeconomic management, transfer of assets, access to credit, jobs and infrastructure, and safety nets. Finally, it delineates some of the strategic guideposts for reducing rural poverty.

By Mohammod Hasan Khan

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