Poverty programmes rarely deal with inequality in the distribution of land, which continues to be the most important asset of the rural poor in many low-income developing countries. And in Uzbekistan privatizing land and housing has doubtless done much to alleviate the adverse effects of the transition. As in China , Uzbekistan's new private plots help provide for people's subsistence needs. Regional disparities are a major impediment to poverty reduction. Public policies are not often geared to allocating resources to the more underdeveloped regions where many of the poor live.
Inequality has to be brought to the fore in the discussion on how to reduce poverty.
The traditional thinking was that only rapid growth mattered and that changes in inequality could make only a minor difference in outcomes. Economic growth cannot be accelerated enough to overcome the handicap of too much income directed to the rich.