Attacking Poverty: The Policy Options For Developing Countries

Developing countries will for ever remain poor unless positive steps are painstakingly taking towards elimination of poverty. They have to evolve national policies that will ensure not just increase in national income but also a more equitable distribution of the national income among the population, sectors and states of nation.
(1) Agricultural Policy:
Since developing countries are basically agricultural communities with over 60% of their population in agriculture,poverty in these communities can be attacked through modernization of agriculture to improve their output and increase their income. Their agricultural inputs of fertilizer, weedicides, insecticides and tractor hire should be heavily subsidized.

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(2) Manpower Policy:
Public policy should promote wider access to educational opportunities as a means of increasing income earning potential for more if the population. This however should be complemented with provision of more productive employment opportunities for the educated.

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(3) Population Control Policy:
Rapid population growth increases unemployment, increases dependency burden, increases expenditure on consumption, reduces savings and reduces investment. To reduce these attributes of poverty, effective population control policy must be adopted.

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(4) Income and price Policy:
Lowering the relative price of labour and raising the relative price of capital will increase productivity and efficiency and reduce inequity by providing more wage paying jobs for the unemployed unskilled workers. This will reduce the incomes of owners of capital. Substitution of labour for capital will in turn raise the income of the poor.

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(5) Physical Asset Redistribution Policy:
Small proportion e.g 10% of the population receives large proportion e.g 70% of the national income because this 10% of the population owns and controls well over 90% if the nation's productive resources, especially capital and land. This policy would evolve a redistribution of the assets. This involves land reforms and transform tenant cultivators into small holders. A certain proportion of annual saving and investments could be transferred to low income groups.

(6) Progressive Tax Policy:
Income distribution can be affected through progressive tax system in which the higher income groups pay higher percentage of their income as tax. This tax can be used to provide facilities that benefit the lower income groups more such as provision of free primary education, public health projects in rural and urban fringe areas if provision of clean water and electricity in remote areas.

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(7) Export Drive Policy:
A developing country that does not strive towards production for export will ever remain poor and beggar country because she will always depend on rich countries for foreign exchange. Poverty should therefore be attacked through production of export commodities. The government should provide incentive and encourage industrialists to produce for export.

(8) Indigenous Technology Policy:
Deliberate effort should be made to develop indigenous technology since foreign technology is often inappropriate for local situations. To this end functional technology development institutes should be established charged with the responsibility of designing and fabricating various types of machines, machine parts and equipments appropriate for local use.

References
Bang M. (1970) Introduction to economic of education. England:penguin books ltd

Early L. C. (Ed's) ( 1993) Growth, development and planning Awka: Keren publishers.