Poverty alleviation as advancing basic human capabilities : Kerala's achievements compared

Abstract

This paper is complementary to my earlier paper on Public
\nIntervention and Poverty Alleviation: Declining Incidence of Rural
\nPoverty in Kerala (published in 1995). The objective of this paper is to
\ngo beyond the notion of income-poverty and consider the achievements
\nin advancing basic human capabilities. Written for an Asian audience,
\nthe paper highlights Kerala’s achievements in advancing basic human
\ncapabilities to an extent that is far above than would be warranted by its
\nper capita income. For this reason, the experience of Kerala, along with
\na few other countries, has received considerable attention in the
\ndevelopment literature. This paper highlights Kerala’s achievements by
\ncomparing them with six Asian countries’ performance. These countries
\nare: India, China, Thailand, Malasia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. After
\nexamining the significance of Kerala’s achievements, the paper discusses
\nKerala’s record in relation to the selected six Asian countries. In addition,
\nthe paper also briefly deals with Kerala’s achievements in relation to
\nall-India since the Indian experience in general is one of slow progress
\nand the task ahead is quite considerable both in absolute terms as well as
\nin relation to most other countries. Emphasis has been given to public
\naction by which Kerala has achieved considerable reduction in poverty.
\nHere I have identified education as the central process through which
\nother changes in society, especially for the poor, were brought about. In
\nthis process, the importance and impact of historical factors in poverty
\nalleviation have been highlighted. Finally an attempt has been made to
\ndraw some lessons from the Kerala experience by focusing on the role
\nof public action.
\nJEL Classification: I 30, I 31, I 32
\nKey Words: Education, health status, human capabilities, human
\ndeprivation, Human Poverty Index, income-poverty, mobilisation,
\npoverty alleviation, public action.