Pobreza monetaria. Crecimiento y redistribución

This paper documents and explains the evolution of monetary poverty in Bolivia during the period 1999-2011. First, we find a significant reduction in both, extreme and moderate, poverty. During the period under analysis, extreme poverty headcount, gap and severity have reduced in 55%, 67% and 73%; while moderate poverty headcount, gap and severity have reduced in 32%, 50% and 60%, res- pectively. The speed of poverty reduction was greater in extreme poverty than in moderate poverty, with significant differences by poverty measures, areas, and time periods. On the one hand, the ave- rage reduction rate in extreme poverty headcount in urbal areas was 10.4 % per year in the 2005-2011 period and 3.5 % per year in the 1999-2005 period; while in rural areas was 7.2 % per year in the 2005- 2011 period and 3.9 % per year in the 1999-2005 period. On the other hand, the average reduction rate in moderate poverty headcount in urbal areas was 3.7 % per year in the 2005-2011 period and 1.9 % per year in the 1999-2005 period; while in rural areas was 4.4 % per year in the 2005-2011 period and 2.4 % per year in the 1999-2005 period. Second, we find that growth of and redistribution in per-capita hou- sehold income have played different roles in poverty reductions by are and time period. On the one hand, poverty changes in urban areas during the 1999-2005 period are mainly explained by the growth in per-capita income - which was enough to compensate for the increase on income inequality; while poverty changes during the 2005-2011 period was the result of both, growth in and redistribution of per-capita income. On the other hand, poverty reductions in rural areas are mainly explained by the sustained growth of per-capita household income, more intense during the last than during the first period.Poverty, growth, redistributio