Immiserizing Growth

Abstract

Immiserizing Growth occurs when growth fails to benefit, or harms, those at the bottom. It is not a new concept, appearing such figures as Malthus, Ricardo and Marx. It is also not empirically insignificant, occurring in between 10% and 35% of cases, depending on the data set and the growth and poverty measures used. In spite of this, it has not received its due attention in the academic literature, dominated by the prevailing narrative that ‘growth is good for the poor’. The chapters in this volume aim to arrive at a better understanding of when, why and how growth fails the poor. They combine discussion of mechanisms of Immiserizing Growth with empirical data on trends in growth, poverty and related welfare indicators. In terms of mechanisms, politics and political economy are chosen as useful entry points to explain IG episodes. The disciplinary focus is diverse, drawing on economics, political economy, applied social anthropology, and development studies. A number of methodological approaches are represented including statistical analysis of household survey and cross-country data, detailed ethnographic work and case study analysis drawing on secondary data. Geographical coverage is wide including Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, the People’s Republic of China, Singapore, and South Korea, in addition to cross-country analysis. As the first book-length treatment of Immiserizing Growth in the literature, we believe that this volume constitutes an important step in redirecting attention to this issue.