Poverty in West Bengal - What have we learnt?

This article reviews some of the existing studies an the incidence of poverty in West Bengal, with particular emphasis on the decades of 1970s and 1980s. Discussions of the implications of all-India or inter-state poverty studies on the poverty scenario in West Bengal are followed by a critical review of some of the major studies of rural and urban poverty in the state. The aggregative state bevel scenario as portrayed by these studies has been contrasted with the grass roots level picture of rural poverty as it has been brought out bl some of the recent case studies based on household surveys/resurveys. The implications of all these studies for formulation of effective anti-poverty policies in West Bengal are also emphasised in this paper.