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Absent actual panel household survey data, this paper constructs, for the first time, synthetic panel data for more than 20 countries accounting for two-thirds of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this process, the analysis employs repeated cross sections that span, on average, a six-year period for each country. The analysis suggests that all these countries as a whole have had pro-poor growth. One-third of the poor population escaped poverty during the studied period, which is larger than the proportion of the population that fell into poverty in the same period. The region also saw a 9 percent reduction in poverty and a 28 percent increase in the size of the middle class. However, chronic poverty remains high, and a considerable proportion of the population is vulnerable to falling into poverty. There is some limited evidence that most resource-rich and middle-income countries have more upward mobility than downward mobility. Post-secondary education is especially strongly associated with higher upward mobility and less downward mobility, which holds to some extent for female-headed and urban households.

Middle Class --- Poverty --- Pro-Poor Growth --- Vulnerability --- Welfare Dynamics

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Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) offer opportunities for sustainable economic growth in Nepal.Nepal currently does not hold a significant share of global markets for MAPs, but MAPs are relatively more important in Nepal's export basket compared with other countries.Nepal currently does not hold a significant share of global markets for MAPs, but MAPs are relatively more important in Nepal's export basket compared with other countries.Market access is affected by non-tariff measures in this sector.Currently, Nepal primarily competes in the segment of raw and unbranded MAPs for the non-discerning user. This segment has minimal value addition and a high degree of global competition.This study identifies two segments where Nepal is well positioned to compete in the short to medium term: (i) lightly processed products for the discerning and conscientious consumer, specifically personal care products; and (ii) heavily processed, mass-produced products for non-discerning buyers, specifically Ayurvedic and traditional medicine products.Personal care products are an attractive market segment for individual Nepali entrepreneurs and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).Nepali firms have the potential to integrate into regional and global value chains for traditional herbal and Ayurvedic medicinal products.While Nepali firms have the potential to compete successfully in the two identified segments, they face many challenges that need to be addressed. Many of the constraints in the MAPs value chains in Nepal are similar to those across the broader agribusiness sector.These challenges include issues with land rental and aggregating land; lack of investment in physical infrastructure; lack of R and D; distortions in input markets (fertilizer and seeds); poor extension services; inadequate support for building firm capabilities; weak quality infrastructure (for testing and certification) that restricts access to foreign markets; poor logistics; insufficient investment in supply chains; and poor access to finance for smaller players in the sector.Sustainability of MAPs is a major concern, especially in higher elevation areas, and requires continued conservation efforts.The government should ease trade frictions for suppliers providing raw materials to domestic manufacturers.In the personal products segment, Nepali firms could benefit from a more conducive environment for e-commerce and skills development.The Ayurvedic and traditional medicine products segment in Nepal could benefit from protecting Nepal's cultural heritage and traditional medicine systems, implementing intellectual property rights (IPR) polices to support private sector growth and attract FDI, and research support to identify the intensity of specific MAPs in their most common final products.Global demand for MAPs, especially as inputs for more complex final goods, has been increasing steadily since the turn of the century. Nepal has the potential to tap into this demand and compete successfully in this market if the challenges faced by Nepali players in the MAPs value chains are addressed.

Export Competitiveness --- Gender --- Industrial and Market Data and Reporting --- Industry --- Microenterprises --- Pro-Poor Growth

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The 2014 release of a new set of purchasing power parity conversion factors (PPPs) for 2011 has prompted a revision of the international poverty line. In order to preserve the integrity of the goalposts for international targets such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the World Bank's twin goals, the new poverty line was chosen so as to preserve the definition and real purchasing power of the earlier USD 1.25 line (in 2005 PPPs) in poor countries. Using the new 2011 PPPs, the new line equals USD 1.90 per person per day. The higher value of the line in US dollars reflects the fact that the new PPPs yield a relatively lower purchasing power of that currency vis-a-vis those of most poor countries. Because the line was designed to preserve real purchasing power in poor countries, the revisions lead to relatively small changes in global poverty incidence: from 14.5 percent in the old method to 14.1 percent in the new method for 2011. In 2012, the new reference year for the global count, we find 12.7 percent of the world's population, or 897 million people, are living in extreme poverty. There are changes in the regional composition of poverty, but they are also relatively small. This paper documents the detailed methodological decisions taken in the process of updating both the poverty line and the consumption and income distributions at the country level, including issues of inter-temporal and spatial price adjustments. It also describes various caveats, limitations, perils and pitfalls of the approach taken.

Global poverty --- Macroeconomics and economic growth --- Poverty measurement --- Poverty reduction --- Pro-poor growth --- Purchasing power parity --- Rural poverty reduction

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The 2014 release of a new set of purchasing power parity conversion factors (PPPs) for 2011 has prompted a revision of the international poverty line. In order to preserve the integrity of the goalposts for international targets such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the World Bank's twin goals, the new poverty line was chosen so as to preserve the definition and real purchasing power of the earlier USD 1.25 line (in 2005 PPPs) in poor countries. Using the new 2011 PPPs, the new line equals USD 1.90 per person per day. The higher value of the line in US dollars reflects the fact that the new PPPs yield a relatively lower purchasing power of that currency vis-a-vis those of most poor countries. Because the line was designed to preserve real purchasing power in poor countries, the revisions lead to relatively small changes in global poverty incidence: from 14.5 percent in the old method to 14.1 percent in the new method for 2011. In 2012, the new reference year for the global count, we find 12.7 percent of the world's population, or 897 million people, are living in extreme poverty. There are changes in the regional composition of poverty, but they are also relatively small. This paper documents the detailed methodological decisions taken in the process of updating both the poverty line and the consumption and income distributions at the country level, including issues of inter-temporal and spatial price adjustments. It also describes various caveats, limitations, perils and pitfalls of the approach taken.

Global poverty --- Macroeconomics and economic growth --- Poverty measurement --- Poverty reduction --- Pro-poor growth --- Purchasing power parity --- Rural poverty reduction

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Large-scale government cash transfer programs have become an important element of social protection and poverty reduction strategies throughout the developing world. Pakistan is no exception; in 2008, Pakistan established the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) as an unconditional cash transfer targeted at the poorest of the poor. The primary goal of the BISP program is to provide the poorest households in Pakistan with unconditional transfers in order to improve their consumption and investments in children. To attain this goal, it is believed important that the transfers are provided directly to women to ensure the funds are spent as intended. Beyond changes in consumption and investment, directing these transfers to women can also serve to empower women by increasing household resources under their control. We analyze the impacts of Pakistan's BISP program on women's decision-making power within households using data collected between 2011 and 2013 as the program was rolling out. Using fuzzy regression discontinuity methods to statistically identify impacts, the BISP transfer is found to have substantial, positive impacts on some variables measuring women's decision-making power and empowerment.

Cash Transfers --- Empowerment --- Gender --- Inequality --- Poverty Reduction --- Pro-Poor Growth --- Social Protections & Assistance --- Social Protections and Labor