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Poverty in India Has Declined over the Last Decade But Not As Much As Previously Thought

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  • Sinha Roy,Sutirtha
  • Van Der Weide,Roy

Abstract

The last expenditure survey released by India’s National Sample Survey organization dates back to2011, which is when India last released official estimates of poverty and inequality. This paper sheds light on howpoverty and inequality have evolved since 2011 using a new household panel survey, the Consumer Pyramids HouseholdSurvey conducted by a private data company. The results show that: (1) extreme poverty is 12.3 percentage points lower in2019 than in 2011, with greater poverty reductions in rural areas; (2) urban poverty rose by 2 percentage points in 2016(coinciding with the demonetization event) and rural poverty reduction stalled by 2019 (coinciding with a slowdown in theeconomy); (3) poverty is estimated to be considerably higher than earlier projections based on consumption growthobserved in national accounts; and (4) consumption inequality in India has moderated since 2011.

Suggested Citation

  • Sinha Roy,Sutirtha & Van Der Weide,Roy, 2022. "Poverty in India Has Declined over the Last Decade But Not As Much As Previously Thought," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9994, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9994
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    2. Milanovic, Branko, 2024. "The three eras of global inequality, 1820–2020 with the focus on the past thirty years," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    3. Shubhangi Agrawal & Sambit Bhattacharyya & Chirantan Chatterjee & Somdeep Chatterjee, 2024. "Income shock and Women’s Health Spending:Evidence from India," Working Paper Series 1324, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    4. Archana Dang & Mausumi Das & Indrani Gupta, 2023. "COVID-19 And The Unequal Distribution Of Poverty Risks: Evidence From Urban India," IEG Working Papers 458, Institute of Economic Growth.
    5. Sandeep Kumar & Snehashish Chakraverty & Narayan Sethi, 2023. "Multidimensional Poverty: CMPI Development, Spatial Analysis and Clustering," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 169(1), pages 647-670, September.

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