Government spending, growth and poverty: an analysis of interlinkages in rural India

Poverty in rural India has declined substantially in recent decades. This steady decline in poverty was strongly associated with agricultural growth, particularly the green revolution, which in turn was a response to massive public investments in agriculture and rural infrastructure. Public investme...

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Main Authors: Fan, Shenggen, Hazell, Peter B. R., Thorat, Sukhadeo
Format: Artículo preliminar
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 1998
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161231
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author Fan, Shenggen
Hazell, Peter B. R.
Thorat, Sukhadeo
author_browse Fan, Shenggen
Hazell, Peter B. R.
Thorat, Sukhadeo
author_facet Fan, Shenggen
Hazell, Peter B. R.
Thorat, Sukhadeo
author_sort Fan, Shenggen
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Poverty in rural India has declined substantially in recent decades. This steady decline in poverty was strongly associated with agricultural growth, particularly the green revolution, which in turn was a response to massive public investments in agriculture and rural infrastructure. Public investment in rural areas has also benefitted the poor through its impact on the growth of the rural non-farm economy, and government expenditure on rural poverty and employment programs,which has grown rapidly, has directly benefitted the rural poor. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the causes of the decline in rural poverty in India, and particularly to disentangle the specific role that government investments have played. We seek to quantify the effectiveness of different types of government expenditures in contributing to poverty alleviation. The study uses state level data for 1970 to 1993 to estimate an econometric model that permits calculation of the number of poor people raised above the poverty line for each additional million rupees spent on different expenditure items. The model is also structured to enable identification of the different channels through which different types of government expenditures impact on the poor. But targeting government expenditures simply to reduce poverty is not sufficient. Government expenditures also need to stimulate economic growth. The model is therefore formulated so as to measure the growth as well as the poverty impact of different items of government expenditure. The results from our model show that government spending on productivity enhancing investments, such as agricultural R&D and irrigation, rural infrastructure (including roads and electricity), and rural development targeted directly on the rural poor, have all contributed to reductions in rural poverty, and most have also contributed to growth in agricultural productivity.
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spelling CGSpace1612312025-11-06T07:24:45Z Government spending, growth and poverty: an analysis of interlinkages in rural India Fan, Shenggen Hazell, Peter B. R. Thorat, Sukhadeo poverty rural poor public investment agricultural development employment economic theories Poverty in rural India has declined substantially in recent decades. This steady decline in poverty was strongly associated with agricultural growth, particularly the green revolution, which in turn was a response to massive public investments in agriculture and rural infrastructure. Public investment in rural areas has also benefitted the poor through its impact on the growth of the rural non-farm economy, and government expenditure on rural poverty and employment programs,which has grown rapidly, has directly benefitted the rural poor. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the causes of the decline in rural poverty in India, and particularly to disentangle the specific role that government investments have played. We seek to quantify the effectiveness of different types of government expenditures in contributing to poverty alleviation. The study uses state level data for 1970 to 1993 to estimate an econometric model that permits calculation of the number of poor people raised above the poverty line for each additional million rupees spent on different expenditure items. The model is also structured to enable identification of the different channels through which different types of government expenditures impact on the poor. But targeting government expenditures simply to reduce poverty is not sufficient. Government expenditures also need to stimulate economic growth. The model is therefore formulated so as to measure the growth as well as the poverty impact of different items of government expenditure. The results from our model show that government spending on productivity enhancing investments, such as agricultural R&D and irrigation, rural infrastructure (including roads and electricity), and rural development targeted directly on the rural poor, have all contributed to reductions in rural poverty, and most have also contributed to growth in agricultural productivity. 1998 2024-11-21T09:54:18Z 2024-11-21T09:54:18Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161231 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Fan, Shenggen; Hazell, P. B. R.; Thorat, Sukhadeo. 1998. Government spending, growth and poverty;an analysis of interlinkages in rural India. EPTD Discussion Paper 33. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161231
spellingShingle poverty
rural poor
public investment
agricultural development
employment
economic theories
Fan, Shenggen
Hazell, Peter B. R.
Thorat, Sukhadeo
Government spending, growth and poverty: an analysis of interlinkages in rural India
title Government spending, growth and poverty: an analysis of interlinkages in rural India
title_full Government spending, growth and poverty: an analysis of interlinkages in rural India
title_fullStr Government spending, growth and poverty: an analysis of interlinkages in rural India
title_full_unstemmed Government spending, growth and poverty: an analysis of interlinkages in rural India
title_short Government spending, growth and poverty: an analysis of interlinkages in rural India
title_sort government spending growth and poverty an analysis of interlinkages in rural india
topic poverty
rural poor
public investment
agricultural development
employment
economic theories
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161231
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