Equal access to services good for growth in poor countries

Policies that promote equal access to services that can improve people's lives should be adopted as an essential part of efforts to reduce poverty, say World Bank economists.

The "2006 World Development Report on Equity and Development" says equal access to opportunities in society "stimulates greater and more productive investment, which leads to faster growth."

The report says policies that promote equity include those that:

• Expand access to quality health and education services;
  
• Provide vulnerable groups with social safety nets;
  
• Expand access to justice, land, infrastructure and capital; and
  
• Promote fairness in financial, labor and product markets.

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Inequality traps emerge when inequalities between individuals and groups are perpetuated over time within and across generations" - World Bank

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