'No matter if I fall, I get up again. If I fall 5,000 times, I will stand up another 5,000 times.' -- William, a 37-year-old from El Gorri n, Colombia Why and how do some people move out of poverty and stay out while others remain trapped? Most books on growth and poverty reduction are dominated by the perspectives of policy makers and academic experts. In contrast, 'Moving Out of Poverty: Success from the Bottom Up' presents the experiences of poor people who have made it out of poverty. The book's findings draw from the Moving Out of Poverty research conducted in communities in 15 countries in Africa, East Asia, Latin America, and South Asia. The authors synthesize the results of qualitative and quantitative research based on discussions with over 60,000 people in rural areas. They offer bottom-up perspectives on the processes and local institutions that play key roles in escapes from poverty. The study finds that there are no differences in the initiatives taken by the poor, the rich, and the upwardly mobile. What, then, explains the difference in outcomes? The authors demonstrate how in the face of deep social inequalities that block access to economic opportunities and local democracies individual initiative and empowerment by themselves are often not enough to escape poverty. This book will be of interest to all concerned with equity in an increasingly unequal world.

The words of US President John F. Kennedy, "the rising tide lifts all boats," can be applied to inclusive growth in contemporary Asia, where the poor are able to participate in and benefit from economic growth. Moving Out of Poverty explores three channels through which economic growth confers gains to the poor and improves the status of women. The first is creation of productive employment, as labor is typically the most abundant asset of the poor, and economic growth has created jobs in labor-intensive sectors. The second is investment in schooling which, coupled with increased opportunities to earn income, has elevated womens' status in society. The third is increased availability of improved infrastructure, which directly impacts increasing household income from wage work and self-employment activities. This book will be of great value to development economists, students and researchers interested in rural economies in Asia, and policymakers engaged in poverty reduction.

There is no peace with hunger. Only promises and promises and no fulfillment. If there is no job, there is no peace. If there is nothing to cook in the pot, there is no peace. - Oscar, a 57-year-old man, El Gorri n, Colombia They want to construct their houses near the road, and they cannot do that if they do not have peace with their enemies. So peace and the road have developed a symbiotic relation. One cannot live without the other. . . . - A community leader from a conflict-affected community on the island of Mindanao, Philippines Most conflict studies focus on the national level, but this volume focuses on the community level. It explores how communities experience and recover from violent conflict, and the surprising opportunities that can emerge for poor people to move out of poverty in these harsh contexts. 'Rising from the Ashes of Conflict' reveals how poor people s mobility is shaped by local democracy, people s associations, aid strategies, and the local economic environment in over 100 communities in seven conflict-affected countries, including Afghanistan. The findings suggest the need to rethink postconflict development assistance. This is the fourth volume in a series derived from the Moving Out of Poverty study, which explores mobility from the perspectives of poor people in more than 500 communities across 15 countries.

This book brings together the latest thinking about poverty dynamics from diverse analytic traditions. While covering a vast body of conceptual and empirical knowledge about economic and social mobility, it takes the reader on compelling journeys of multigenerational accounts of three villages in Kanartaka, India, twelve years in the life of a street child in Burkina Faso, and much more. Leading development practitioners and scholars from the fields of anthropology, economics, political science, and sociology critically examine the literature from their disciplines and contribute new frameworks and evidence from their own works. The 'Moving Out of Poverty' series launched in 2007 is under the editorial direction of Deepa Narayan, Senior Advisor of the World Bank and former director of the pathbreaking 'Voices of the Poor' series. It features the results of new comparative research across more than 500 communities in 15 countries to understand how and why people move out of poverty, and presents other work which builds on interdisciplinary and contextually grounded understandings of growth and poverty reduction.

Based on discussions with over 60,000 people across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, this book provides a bottom-up view on the processes and institutions that play key roles in poverty escapes, asking how these help or hinder people in their quest to move out of poverty. It argues for poverty-reducing strategies informed by local realities.

Based on discussions with over 60,000 people across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, this book provides a bottom-up view on the processes and institutions that play key roles in poverty escapes, asking how these help or hinder people in their quest to move out of poverty. It argues for poverty-reducing strategies informed by local realities.