Abstract
The best way to reduce poverty is to focus on raising the productive capacity – not the consumption capacity – of the poor. This implies poverty reduction efforts must focus on two dimensions: raising income of the poor, and providing the poor access to basic public services (such as public health, education, sanitation, infrastructure and security). First, the best way to raise income is to create employment opportunities for the poor. The private sector is clearly the best engine for job creation; the government can play a useful facilitating role. Second, governments are responsible for, and should be held accountable for providing basic public services. Social marketing can play a useful role in designing and delivering these services to the poor more effectively.
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Recommended Citation
Karnani, Aneel
(2017)
"Marketing and Poverty Alleviation: The Perspective of the Poor,"
Markets, Globalization & Development Review:
Vol. 2:
No.
1, Article 5.
DOI: 10.23860/MGDR-2017-02-01-05
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Author Bio
Aneel Karnani is faculty member of the Strategy group at the Ross School of Business, The University of Michigan. His teaching and research interests are focused on three topics: strategies for growth, global competition, and the role of business in society. His recent research has focused on poverty reduction and the appropriate roles for the private sector, the state and civil society. He is interested in how society can strike the appropriate balance between private profits and public welfare in tackling major societal problems. Karnani is the author of the recent book Fighting Poverty Together.