Global Poverty and the New Bottom Billion: What if Three-quarters of the World's Poor Live in Middle-income Countries?

摘要: Summary This paper argues that the global poverty problem has changed because most of world's poor no longer live in low income countries (LICs). Previously, was viewed as an LIC issue predominantly; nowadays such simplistic assumptions/classifications are misleading some large graduated into MIC category still have numbers people. In 1990, we estimate 93 per cent lived LICs; contrastingly 2007–8 three quarters approximately 1.3bn middle-income (MICs) and about a quarter poor, 370mn people remaining 39 low-income – largely sub-Saharan Africa. This startling change over two decades implies new ‘bottom billion’ who do not fragile conflict-affected states, but stable, countries. Such patterns evident across monetary, nutritional multi-dimensional measures. This general pattern is robust enough to warrant further investigation discussion.