Marketing and Poverty Alleviation: The Perspective of the Poor

The best way to reduce poverty is to focus on raising the productive capacity – not the consumption capacity – of the poor. This implies poverty reduction efforts must focus on two dimensions: raising income of the poor, and providing the poor access to basic public services (such as public health, education, sanitation, infrastructure and security). First, the best way to raise income is to create employment opportunities for the poor. The private sector is clearly the best engine for job creation; the government can play a useful facilitating role. Second, governments are responsible for, and should be held accountable for providing basic public services. Social marketing can play a useful role in designing and delivering these services to the poor more effectively