Sustained growth does not equal poverty reduction, as World Bank statistics recently released for the Dominican Republic are confirming. The per capita GDP increased by almost 50% from 2000 to 2011, but World Bank statistics show while 32% of the Dominican population was poor in 2000, today an estimated 40.4% are poor. The average for Latin America and the Caribbean is 27%.
The DR Equity Assessment Overview report says that social mobility in the DR is low, with less than 2% of the population moving up, compared to 41% in the region. The report indicates that from 2000 to 2011, more than 19% of Dominicans experienced a worsened economic status.
The report also shows that real wages have declined by 27% over the past 10 years, despite productivity increasing.
The World Bank urges fairer, efficient and sustainable taxation, building of transparent and efficient government institutions that promote economic and social inclusion, improvements in the investment climate and stimulating entrepreneurs and job creation.
The report says that the growth sectors of tourism, manufacturing, telecommunications and financial services have not generated the jobs that were expected. It mentions that most of the jobs that have been created are for unskilled workers in the informal sector.
The poverty situation in the Dominican Republic is worsened by the mass immigration of poor people from Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas. A very large number of immigrants from Haiti entered the country during this period, increasing even more in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake.
See a copy of the report in Spanish at dr1.com/premium/news/2014/DR_Equity_Assessment_OverviewSp.pdf