Economics of Poverty and Inequality
Poverty and inequality remain central challenges in global development. IIEP’s Economics of Poverty and Inequality initiative focuses on research, policy dialogue, and public programming related to poverty measurement, human development, inequality, and the design and evaluation of poverty-reduction programs.
Launched in 2009 with the support of a generous anonymous donor, this area of work began as the Ultra-poverty Initiative and has since supported more than 50 IIEP events on poverty and human development. The initiative is coordinated by James E. Foster and Stephen C. Smith, with participation from GW faculty engaged in research and policy analysis on poverty, inequality, and development.
Areas of Focus. IIEP programming and research in this area have explored multidimensional poverty measurement, poverty program design and evaluation, human development, educational quality, women’s well-being, health, nutrition, corruption, poverty traps, and poverty in low- and middle-income countries.
Multidimensional Poverty. One of the initiative’s overarching themes is multidimensional measurement and analysis of poverty and poverty programs. Former IIEP Director James Foster’s influential work on multidimensional measurement provided the underpinnings of the United Nations Development Programme Multidimensional Poverty Index. Dr. Foster applies this work to measurement in several fields including educational quality, women’s well-being, health, nutrition, and corruption. In addition, IIEP faculty also work on the design and impact of multidimensional poverty programs, multidimensional screening of poverty program eligibility, and multidimensional poverty trap analysis.
Seminars and Conferences. IIEP co-hosts an ongoing series on Viewing Multidimensional Poverty From Many Angles with the University of Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the UNDP Human Development Report Office (HDRO).
This initiative is also connected to IIEP’s broader programming on urbanization and development, including past Urbanization and Development Conferences that brought together academics, policymakers, government officials, and development practitioners to discuss people, markets, cities, and development.
April 19, 2021 - 10:00 AM
Horizontal and Intersecting Wealth Inequalities in Mozambique – 1997 to 2017
March 26, 2021 - 10:00 AM
Revised Arab Multidimensional Poverty Index 2021
February 25, 2021 - 10:00 AM
Inequality among the Multidimensionally Poor in over 100 countries
February 1, 2021 - 10:00 AM
Moderate internationally comparable MPI
January 22, 2021 - 8:30 AM
Diagnosing and Addressing India’s Post-2011 Growth Slowdown
January 18, 2021 - 10:00 AM
Sensitivity Analyses in Poverty Measurement: The Case of the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index
December 11, 2020 - 11:00 AM
Multidimensional Poverty in the U.S.
November 15, 2020 - 12:30 PM
Who Smooths What? Asset Smoothing versus Consumption Smoothing in Burkina Faso
November 13, 2020 - 12:30 PM
The Positive Effect of Labor Mobility Restrictions on Human Capital Accumulation in China
October 26, 2020 - 12:30 PM
Immunocapital: Disease, Power, and Inequality in the Antebellum Cotton Kingdom
October 19, 2020 - 12:30 PM
Report Cards: The Impact of Providing School and Child Test Scores on Educational Markets