Poverty Traps

Bowles, Samuel Samuel Bowles, Steven N Durlauf, Karla Hoff, Steven N. Durlauf,

ISBN 10: 0691125007 / ISBN 13: 9780691125008

Published by Princeton University Press -, 2006

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Synopsis:

Much popular belief--and public policy--rests on the idea that those born into poverty have it in their power to escape. But the persistence of poverty and ever-growing economic inequality around the world have led many economists to seriously question the model of individual economic self-determination when it comes to the poor. In Poverty Traps, Samuel Bowles, Steven Durlauf, Karla Hoff, and the book's other contributors argue that there are many conditions that may trap individuals, groups, and whole economies in intractable poverty. For the first time the editors have brought together the perspectives of economics, economic history, and sociology to assess what we know--and don't know--about such traps. Among the sources of the poverty of nations, the authors assign a primary role to social and political institutions, ranging from corruption to seemingly benign social customs such as kin systems. Many of the institutions that keep nations poor have deep roots in colonial history and persist long after their initial causes are gone. Neighborhood effects--influences such as networks, role models, and aspirations--can create hard-to-escape pockets of poverty even in rich countries. Similar individuals in dissimilar socioeconomic environments develop different preferences and beliefs that can transmit poverty or affluence from generation to generation. The book presents evidence of harmful neighborhood effects and discusses policies to overcome them, with attention to the uncertainty that exists in evaluating such policies.

About the Author: Samuel Bowles is Research Professor and Director of the Behavioral Sciences Program at the Santa Fe Institute, and Professor of Economics at the University of Siena. He codirects the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Inequality and Economic Performance, and his books include Microeconomics (Princeton/Russell Sage Foundation). Steven N. Durlauf is Kenneth J. Arrow Professor of Economics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and editor of the forthcoming Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Karla Hoff is a Senior Research Economist at the World Bank and a member of the MacArthur Research Network on Inequality and Economic Performance.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Poverty Traps
Publisher: Princeton University Press -
Publication Date: 2006
Binding: hardcover
Condition: Very Good