Annotation World Bank Technical Paper No. 346. Although private sector expansion may relieve governments from certain tasks, it also imposes new responsibilities. This paper examines the relative roles of the private and public sectors in the implementation of a two-track strategy for poverty reduction. The first track requires sustained broad-based economic growth that makes efficient use of labor, the main asset owned by the poor. The second promotes investment in people or human resources by ensuring basic social services that are accessible to the poor. Individual chapters examine social safety nets and issues in education, health, population, and nutrition.

The Economic Development Institute (EDI), in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Inter-American Foundation, launched the Partnerships for Poverty Reduction program in six countries in Latin America and the Caribbean—as part of the Bank's Mission "to fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results." The program sought to promote the adoption of an approach to poverty reduction that relies on partnerships among local, regional, and central governments, other public sector agencies, nongovernmental organizations, private sector companies and other civic organizations. This publication is a result of these collaborative efforts. It contains a powerful message about partnerships with the state, civil society and business: these partnerships have the potential of becoming the basis of an approach to poverty reduction that replaces old and failed paradigms in the region.

The private sector is a vital factor in creating the wealth and economic growth needed to reduce poverty in a significant and sustainable manner. However, there are many obstacles preventing private sector firms from engaging in business where poverty is widespread. Examining the Private Sector’s Role in Wealth Creation and Poverty Reduction explores poverty alleviation in developing economies through the creation of livelihood options developed by private sector activities. Examining relevant topics such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) frameworks, multinational enterprises, and responsible tourism, this publication is an ideal resource for private sector firms, researchers, academicians, professionals, and students interested in wealth creation in areas of extreme poverty.

In this hard-hitting polemical Karnani demonstrates what is wrong with today's approaches to reducing poverty. He proposes an eclectic approach to poverty reduction that emphasizes the need for business, government and civil society to partner together to create employment opportunities for the poor.

Private sector activity is crucial for development. It shapes the investment climate, mobilizes innovation and financing in areas such as global health, and can either cause or mitigate social and environmental harm. Yet so far, the international development debate has not focused on the role of the private sector. This volume—written by members of the private sector, philanthropic organizations, and academia—investigates ways to galvanize the private sector in the fight against global poverty. Using a bottom-up approach, they describe how the private sector affects growth and poverty alleviation. They also review the impediments to private capital investment, and discuss various approaches to risk mitigation, including public sector enhancements, and identify some specific new plans for financing development in neglected markets, including an equity-based model for financing small-to-medium-sized enterprises. From the top-down, the authors look at the social and environmental impact of private sector activities, investigate public-private partnerships, explore new perspectives on the role of multinationals, and discuss an in-depth case study of these issues as they relate to global public health. In addition to providing a broad overview of the current issues, this forward-looking volume assesses the action-oriented initiatives that already exist, and provides templates and suggestions for new initiatives and partnerships. Contributors include David DeFerranti (Brookings Institution), Timothy Freundlich (Calvert Social Investment Foundation), Ross Levine (World Bank), Sylvia Mathews (Gates Foundation), Jane Nelson (Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government), Alan Patricof (APAX Partners), Warrick Smith (World Bank), and Julie Sunderland (APAX Partners).