The Gender and Poverty Nexus: Issues and Policies

Abstract

Despite impressive growth in Asian developing economies in the last two decades, the vast majority of the world's poor live in this region. According to one estimate, about 750 million - 800 million poor inhabit this region. Given the magnitude of the problem, poverty alleviation has become almost synonymous with economic development for most poorer Asian economies. While efforts are being made to alleviate poverty, it is being increasingly argued that, as there is a gender dimension to the poverty problem, these efforts should be gender focused. This paper critically reviews the existing theoretical and empirical literature on the gender and poverty nexus. The data and the empirical studies reviewed in this paper are drawn essentially, but not exclusively, from Asian developing countries. On the basis of this review, the paper examines the conceptual basis for a gender-focused approach to poverty alleviation and the types of programs and policies required to achieve this objective. It appears that there are two lines of arguments being advanced for this gender focus.