Indigenous people constitute a large portion of Latin America's population and suffer from severe and widespread poverty. They are more likely than any other groups of a country's population to be poor. This study documents their socioeconomic situation and shows how it can be improved through changes in policy-influenced variables such as education. The authors review the literature of indigenous people around the world and provide a statistical overview of those in Latin America. Case studies profile the indigenous populations in Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru, examining their distribution, education, income, labour force participation and differences in gender roles. A final chapter presents recommendations for conducting future research.

Indigenous people constitute a large portion of Latin America's population and suffer from widespread poverty. This book provides the first rigorous assessment of changes in socio-economic conditions among the region's indigenous people, tracking progress in these indicators during the first international decade of indigenous peoples (1994-2004). Set within the context of existing literature and political changes over the course of the decade, this volume provides a rigorous statistical analysis of indigenous populations in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru, examining their poverty rates, education levels, income determinants, labour force participation and other social indicators. The results show that while improvements have been achieved in some social indicators, little progress has been made with respect to poverty.

This is the first book that documents poverty systematically for the world's indigenous peoples in developing regions in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The volume compiles results for roughly 85 percent of the world's indigenous peoples. It draws on nationally representative data to compare trends in countries' poverty rates and other social indicators with those for indigenous sub-populations and provides comparable data for a wide range of countries all over the world. It estimates global poverty numbers and analyzes other important development indicators, such as schooling, health, and social protection. Provocatively, the results show a marked difference in results across regions, with rapid poverty reduction among indigenous (and non-indigenous) populations in Asia contrasting with relative stagnation - and in some cases falling back - in Latin America and Africa. Two main factors motivate the book. First, there is a growing concern among poverty analysts worldwide that countries with significant vulnerable populations - such as indigenous peoples - may not meet the Millennium Development Goals, and thus there exists a consequent need for better data tracking conditions among these groups. Second, there is a growing call by indigenous organizations, including the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples, for solid, disaggregated data analyzing the size and causes of the "development gap."

This book documents poverty systematically for the world's indigenous peoples in developing regions in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The volume compiles results for roughly 85 percent of the world's indigenous peoples. It draws on nationally representative data to compare trends in countries' poverty rates and other social indicators with those for indigenous sub-populations and provides comparable data for a wide range of countries all over the world. It estimates global poverty numbers and analyzes other important development indicators, such as schooling, health and social protection. Provocatively, the results show a marked difference in results across regions, with rapid poverty reduction among indigenous (and non-indigenous) populations in Asia contrasting with relative stagnation - and in some cases falling back - in Latin America and Africa.

This book brings together two of today's leading concerns in development policy - the urgent need to prioritize poverty reduction and the particular circumstances of indigenous peoples in both developing and industrialized countries. The contributors analyse patterns of indigenous disadvantage worldwide, the centrality of the right to self-determination, and indigenous people's own diverse perspectives on development. Several fundamental and difficult questions are explored, including the right balance to be struck between autonomy and participation, and the tension between a new wave of assimilationism in the guise of 'pro-poor' and 'inclusionary' development policies and the fact that such policies may in fact provide new spaces for indigenous peoples to advance their demands. In this regard, one overall conclusion that emerges is that both differences and commonalities must be recognised in any realistic study of indigenous poverty.

Despite significant changes in poverty overall in Latin America, the proportion of indigenous peoples living in poverty did not change much from the early 1990s to the present. While earlier work focused on human development, much less has been done on the distribution and returns to income-generating assets and the effect these have on income generation strategies. The authors show that low income and low assets are mutually reinforcing. For instance, low education levels translate into low income, resulting in poor health and reduced schooling for future generations. Social networks affect the economic opportunities of individuals through two important channels-information and norms. However, the analysis shows that the networks available to indigenous peoples do not facilitate employment in nontraditional sectors.

Indigenous people constitute a large portion of Latin America's population and suffer from widespread poverty. This book provides the first rigorous assessment of changes in socio-economic conditions among the region's indigenous people, tracking progress in these indicators during the first international decade of indigenous peoples (1994-2004). Set within the context of existing literature and political changes over the course of the decade, this volume provides a rigorous statistical analysis of indigenous populations in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru, examining their poverty rates, education levels, income determinants, labour force participation and other social indicators. The results show that while improvements have been achieved in some social indicators, little progress has been made with respect to poverty.