Policies for equitable growth in developing countries
Adelman, I.
Agricultural Economics Research 28(3): 148-151
1976
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-1423 Document Number: 398493
A detailed table tests major hypotheses about economic growth and equity of distribution on the basis of three recent studies: (1) a cross sectional statistical analysis of differences between countries in the relative amount of income received by the poorest 60% of households; (2) a historical analysis of processes and initial conditions leading to extreme poverty in the 19th century, and (3) a model of the South Korean economy used to explore the effects of various major (non revolutionary) programmes and strategies on poverty. All three studies although quite different in methodology lead to similar policy conclusions. Intervention to improve income distribution is exceedingly difficult, single-pronged anti-poverty programmes are ephemeral in their effects. The initial social structures and social response to economic change are critically important. Unbalanced growth policies which concentrate growth in a few sectors or regions have backwash effects which tend to accentuate disparities and worsen the condition of the poor. A systems or general equilibrium approach which attempts to design a strategy which specifically aims to improve the situation of the poor in the medium term is necessary. Secondary or indirect effects of change can swamp the direct effects and even reverse their direction.