Quantifying Absolute Poverty in the Developing World AbstractThe
authors estimate that in 1985 about one in five persons in the
developing world lived in poverty, judged by the standards of
the poorest countries. This rises to one in three at a common,
more generous, poverty line. The aggregate consumption short-
fall of the poorest fifth is about one half of one percent of
world consumption, while that of the poorest third is a further
one percent. The shape of the distribution of consumption
suggests that aggregate poverty would fall fairly rapidly if
moderate growth in average consumption levels can be sustained,
and the poor share at least proportionally in that growth.
However, it would take only small adverse shifts in the world
distribution of consumption to eliminate the gains to the poor
from growth. Copyright 1991 by The International Association for
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