Pathways Out of and Into Poverty in 36 Villages of Andhra Pradesh, India

This paper studies poverty and the movements in and out of poverty in 36 villages of Andhra Pradesh, India. It states that:

• While fourteen percent of households in 36 villages of three districts in Andhra Pradesh escaped from poverty for over the past 25 years;
• Another 12% of these households fell into poverty during the same time;
• Escaping poverty and falling into poverty are responsive to different set of factors;
• They require different sets of policies: one set to assist escape and another to prevent descent;
• While ill health and high health care costs, social and customary expenses, high-interest-private-debt, and drought are associated most often with falling into poverty;
• Diversification of income sources and land improvement are most closely related with escape;
• Other factors, including industrial growth and education, have had only very slight and indirect effects on poverty in these villages.

The study uses a "Stages-of-Progress" method to:

• Present results in terms of households escaping poverty and households falling into poverty;
• Look at reasons associated with falling into poverty and escaping poverty;
• Present policy implications that emerge form the analysis.

The study concludes that:

• "Poverty monitoring stations" can help track the trends and causes associated with movements in both directions within any particular region;
• Using a combination of methods, including household surveys, and participatory poverty assessments can help enhance the utility of each method.