Chronic Poverty: What is to be Done?

The six country studies from Africa and Asia presented in this book have explored diff erent aspects of poverty dynamics and persistence, together with the factors which trap households and individuals in chronic poverty. This concluding chapter asks the classic policy question of `What is to be done?' about chronic poverty. In particular, it tries to synthesize what different development actors (broadly government, donors and civil society) can do to help individuals and households escape from chronic poverty while preventing others from falling into it. It also asks what role panel data has to play in increasing our understanding of chronic poverty and poverty dynamics in the future.