Voices of the Poor : From Many Lands

This is the final book in a three-part
series entitled, "Voices of the Poor." The series
is based on an unprecedented effort to gather the views,
experiences, and aspirations of more than 60,000 poor men
and women from sixty countries. The work was undertaken for
the "World Development Report 2000/2001: Attacking
Poverty." This publication is organized as follows:
Each country chapter opens up with a brief life story. These
life stories were chosen because they highlight concerns
raised not only by poor women and men living in that
particular community, but because the same concerns were
echoed in other parts of the country. The chapters then
unfold around particular sets of issues that emerged
repeatedly in group discussions and individual interviews.
While the findings reported in the chapters cannot be
generalized to represent poverty conditions for an entire
nation, the chapters bring to life what it means to be poor
in various communities, in fourteen countries, from the
perspective of poor people. In the final chapter, four major
patterns emerge: Poor people need a diverse set of assets
and capabilities if they are to survive and overcome
poverty. Economy-wide policies and shocks deplete poor
people's assets and increase their insecurity. The
culture of mediating institutions often negatively distorts
the impact of well-intended policies and excludes the poor
from gains. Gender inequity within households is persistent
and children are acutely vulnerable.