04.02.2019

Global Poverty - The World in the Poverty Trap?

Prof. Jörg Baten, Depratement of Economic History, discussed at the dialogue forum "Global Poverty - The World in the Poverty Trap". Over the past decades, the international community has made progress towards its goal of combating absolute poverty. But poverty remains a global problem. In many countries, the unequal distribution of wealth and income is increasing. The dialogue forums "Poor Rich World" are concerned about the various facets of poverty and their consequences. Professor Jörg Baten discussed the issue on the podium on 24 January. Read the report below.

Excerpt from the report of the organizer Munich Re Foundation:

Numerical education is crucial
"There are examples of positive developments, such as in Botswana. "Jörg Baten, Professor of Economic History at the University of Tübingen, knows that the country has grown faster than any other in the world in recent decades. And this despite the fact that Botswana without ports is geographically largely isolated in southern Africa. In addition, the country has managed to distribute the revenues from diamond mining fairly. "The consensus between different interest groups on economic decisions and the good education of women have contributed to Botswana's success," explained Baten, emphasising the importance of numerical education for women. In order to escape poverty, it is important that these key people can deal with numbers and then pass this ability on to their children. Violence is a major obstacle to trying to escape poverty. "It is surprising how the increase in inequality within countries over the last two centuries has caused civil wars," said Baten.