The poverty problem and the industrialization solution

Despite decades of effort, abject poverty remains a serious problem in many countries around the world. The effects of five approaches to poverty alleviation—foreign aid, microfinance, social entrepreneurship, base of the pyramid initiatives, and the establishment of property rights among the abjectly poor—are briefly reviewed. While each of these approaches has some benefits, none have fulfilled their promise of poverty alleviation. Ironically, as these efforts have gone forward, international industrialization has had a more significant impact on poverty alleviation in at least some countries.