01972cas a2200241 a 4500 AALejournalIMF002311 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781451849363 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Epaulard, Anne. Macroeconomic Performance and Poverty Reduction / Anne Epaulard. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2003. 1 online resource (36 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students This paper investigates the link between macroeconomic performance and the change in the poverty rate among 47 episodes of growth and 52 episodes of economic downturn in developing and transition economies. We show that, on average, (i) the greater the inequality, the lower the elasticity of poverty to growth, and the higher the mean income, the higher the elasticity; (ii) the country-specific elasticity is identical for episodes of economic growth and for episodes of economic downturn; and (iii) higher growth does not bring diminishing returns to poverty reduction. Moreover, we show that very high inflation is associated with a higher elasticity of the poverty rate to economic downturn, but at lower inflation, there is no relationship between inflation and the elasticity of the poverty rate to growth or recession. Trade openness and changes in the terms of trade explain part of the elasticity of the poverty rate to economic downturn. Mode of access: Internet IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2003/072 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2003/072/001.2003.issue-072-en.xml IMF e-Library