Dollarisation of Poverty ─ Rethinking Poverty Beyond 2015

The volumes of debate on poverty suggest that there is no unanimously agreed definition of poverty that can be applied for everyone. Poverty is a political and highly contested concept because what commentators mean by poverty depends on what they intend to do about it. Given this context, Palash Kamruzzaman explores two key aspects of global poverty reduction. First, he asks, is it really possible to understand poverty for all poor countries through a ubiquitous definition? Why has a US dollar based definition of poverty been promoted by the international aid architecture for all poor countries? Second, the author assesses to what extent such an understanding of poverty contributed to poverty reduction in poor developing countries. This is of particular significance in the final year of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially to find out more effective ways forward for poverty reduction after 2015. Taking specific country-contexts into account, Kamruzzaman argues that national poverty lines should be the benchmark for future anti-poverty policies.

Palash Kamruzzaman is a teaching fellow in International Development at the University of Bath, UK. He holds degrees in Anthropology and Sociology and has taught Development Studies, Sociology, and Social Policy in a number of British and Bangladeshi universities. His research and teaching interests include global poverty, politics of policy-making, participation, ethnographic approach towards development, civil society, and actor oriented sociology with a particular focus on Asia. He has published books, articles and book chapters in these areas.