Meanwhile, despite declining expatriate employment and incomes in the last half-decade, remittances have helped to fight poverty, reduce hunger, improve diets, and increase agricultural investment. Globally, remittances amount to nearly three times the size of official development assistance, which has been an easy target for budget cuts by rich countries in recent years.
世行起初主要是以避免挨饿所需购买的粮食来界定其“每天一美元”的极端贫困线。但此后所进行的调整（比方说2005年的每天1.25美元）却似乎不再坚持这一原则。今天的极端贫困线已经不足以避免营养不良的状况——以尼加拉瓜为例。虽然1990年已经实现了极端贫困人口减半，但2015年要想实现营养不良减半的目标其进展还需要大大加快。