Most recent studies on Indian poverty show that the level of poverty has
fallen, has been falling since the 1980s. But sheer numbers are large and
the official poverty line in India in reality is bare subsistence. The
Indian "middle" class is a misnomer. It is really the upper class,
given the percentages.
Anthony
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Anthony P. D'Costa, Associate Professor
Comparative International Development
University of Washington Campus Box 358436
1900 Commerce Street
Tacoma, WA 98402, USA
Phone: (253) 692-4462
Fax : (253) 692-5718
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On Sat, 14 Apr 2001, Doug Henwood wrote:
> Brad DeLong wrote:
>
> >Rates of growth of GDP per capita, India:
> >
> >1950-1980 1.1% per year
> >1980-1990 3.3% per year
> >1990-2000 4.2% per year
> >
> >At the pace of the last decade, India's real productivity is
> >doubling every seventeen years (compared to a doubling time of 65
> >years before 1980).
>
> Any evidence on how this growth has been distributed? Are the bottom
> 20-40% any better off, or is it mainly captured by a thin urban
> middle class and the IT sector?
>
> Doug
>
>
