Does industrialization and modern economic growth diminish poverty? Williamson answers that if by growth we mean an increase in per capita income, and if there is no change in the distribution of that income, then by definition the incomes of the poor will rise along with everything else and the rate of escape from poverty will exhibit the same performance. This “trickle down” theorem suggests that it is not possible to discuss the relation between growth and poverty without discussing its effect on distribution. The author details growth, poverty and distribution while looking at whether or not economic growth diminishes poverty and the role that economic policy has played.
