Negotiating Poverty

Over one and a half billion people live on the equivalent of less than one US dollar a day. As the gap between rich and poor continues to grow, more people than ever before live below the poverty line and their numbers will increase. The debate over how to tackle global poverty is fierce. On the one hand there are politicians and international organisations such as the World Bank and IMF, who assume that poverty is best alleviated by incorporating the poor into the globalised market. On the other hand there are the development experts, activists and academics, who argue that the global market itself is the cause of continued poverty and suffering. Negotiating Poverty tells their side of the story. With contributions from leading academics, activists and politicians, it argues that before any effective strategy can be put into action, the poor themselves must be included in the debate.