Revisiting the Poverty: Economy Relationship— Evidence from Selected Central Asian Countries

The present study attempts to examine the relationship between economic growth and poverty in Central Asian countries for the period 2000–2020. To achieve the objectives of the study, time series autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) has been applied. The study confirms a cointegrating relationship among the variables across the countries. From the results, it can be concluded that financial development and economic growth have a positive impact on poverty reduction. This finding gives credence to the trickle-down effect of growth on the poor. However, the positive relationship between inequality and poverty suggests that inequality raises poverty by reducing economic development in all these countries. Furthermore, evidence from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan indicates that inflation lowers poverty through decreased labour expenses, which in turn raises employment levels in these nations.