Introduction Foreword by James D. Wolfensohn President of the World Bank Group Preface by Jamil Sopher and Thierry Brun, World Bank Group Staff Association Introduction by Michael Walton, Director,World Bank Poverty Reduction Board and Chief Economist, Human Development Network . Credits Buy the Book Introduction Michael Walton, Director,World Bank Poverty Reduction Board and Chief Economist, Human Development Network educing poverty is a complex and difficult challenge.
Poverty has many dimensions.
It certainly involves lack of human and physical assets and inadequate material means to acquire food and other necessities. But it also means vulnerability to ill-health, drought, job loss, economic decline, violence, and societal conflict. And it often means a deep condition of disempowerment, even humiliation. Progress requires effective public action at both the national and local levels, but this action is in turn profoundly influenced by how a society functions and by the public, private, and nongovernment institutions within a country. And action within a country is powerfully affected by international conditions.