Redefining the Poverty Debate (IEA Research Monographs)

The political debate about poverty is entirely dominated by groups calling for more income transfers to the poor, but author Kristian Niemietz lays out another approach to dealing with the problem of poverty-one that focuses on addressing the problems caused by government interventions that raise the cost of living. These interventions are enormous in their effect on the poor. As Niemietz points out, the poverty lobbies are more or less silent on these crucial matters, but this has not always been the case. In the past, free-trade movements, for example, had been seen as pro-poor movements. Alongside radical market reforms, the Niemietz proposes wide-ranging welfare reform to encourage work and remove the penalties on family formation. This would include a form of negative income tax system and the localization of welfare decisions.