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Poverty at the Metropolitan Level

Last week’s data from the Census Bureau on poverty and income provided some hints as to the impact of the Great Recession in U.S. regions and metropolitan areas.

US PovertyThe picture becomes clearer today with the release of data from the 2010 American Community Survey. They portray a bleak period in metro areas that swelled the ranks of the poor and punctuated a decade of economic stagnation for the middle class. Here are five trends that stood out to us in an initial scan of income and poverty data for the nation’s 100 largest metro areas:

The Great Recession raised poverty rates and reduced household incomes in the vast majority of metro areas. The deep downturn left relatively few places untouched. Among the 100 largest metro areas, poverty rates rose in 79, and median household incomes declined in 82, between 2007 and 2010.

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Posted in Global Poverty.

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By Andy – January 28, 2012

How the Global Partnership for Education Could Change the World

The United States has supported Education for All by agreeing to two international development frameworks that focus on education.

educationAlthough almost 40 million children returned to school this September in the United States, around the world nearly 70 million children are still denied access to quality education – and more than half of them are girls. Investing in the future of these children is a down payment on a more robust global economy, improved global health outcomes, and a more secure world. Consider that:

Worldwide, 700,000 HIV cases could be prevented each year if all children receive a primary education. Each additional year of schooling reduces a young man’s risk of becoming involved in conflict by 20%. Education increases a person’s wages approximately 10%. For girls, the rate of return for one additional year of primary education is as high as 15%.

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By Andy – January 22, 2012

Is Development Always Possible?

Development work takes as given that its ultimate aims are achievable.

developmentI was recently in London, and one of the joys of that city is the second floor of Foyles bookshop, dedicated to history, international relations, economics and development. Browsing through the books there, I came across an arresting title: The Myth of Development. Written by the Peruvian Oswaldo de Rivero, it poses a startling question: what if the whole concept of development is flawed? What if the countries we refer to as ‘developing’ are not developing and will never develop?

The first part of this question is nothing new: I myself prefer the term ‘less developed country’ (LDC) to ‘developing country’ because the latter implies a progress that may not always be evident. What de Rivero postulates is that this might not be a temporary state, but that these economies will never develop.

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Posted in Poverty Reduction.

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By Andy – January 15, 2012

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