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Poverty in the West Bank and Gaza : summary

WORLD BANK. Middle East and North Africa Region
May 2001

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This report's objective is to increase understanding of the causes of poverty in order to find ways to reduce it among Palestinians. Three broad messages emerge from this report: 1) Unless the Palestinian territories are able to achieve high levels of economic growth, the prospects for future poverty reduction are not encouraging. 2) Unless Palestinians gain greater access to external markets and to better paying jobs, whether in Israel or in higher productivity occupations, it will be difficult for them to escape poverty. 3) The formal safety net does not have the financial resources necessary to have a significant impact on poverty. Nevertheless, it can play an important role in helping to reduce destitution among households headed by the unemployable poor and even the temporarily unemployed. The report's four chapters compare poverty levels and discuss the micro-determinants of poverty; analyze the impacts of economic growth, income redistribution, and labour markets; detail the poverty map; and discuss improving the social safety net

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